Finally catching up

So it looks like the only time I have to catch up is 10:23 on a Friday night...so be it!

I'm waiting for the rest of my NYC pictures to load onto Flickr as we speak, so in the meantime, I'll give some teasers for the pictures I promised last time....all the others not posted here will be on Flickr.

1.  One-year anniversary date at Craft

I don't have many pictures, and they are all from my point-and-shoot, so I couldn't play with them as much in Photoshop...however, this is one of the best pictures we've taken in a while.  

2.  New organization in the craft room (this brings me SO much joy).

I got an old sewing table from my mom - which had an awesome old sewing machine in it that didn't work.  My dad fixed it up so I had a flat surface where the old machine used to be, and now I have a separate space to sew, instead of sharing it with all my scrapping stuff.  It's turning into quite the craft room.  Notice my wire shelves in the back corner...already containing stacks of fabric!

3.  Smalls and Stone

A day at the park...

4.  New dining room table - postponed...won't have it until tomorrow...so maybe next week (or 2 months from now, as is the trend) I'll post those pictures.  Here is a picture of the freebie we got with the table (lurv FREE).

Our dining room table is a Craig's list find and when we went to look at it, this old trunk was sitting by the curb.  Apparently it's an old garage sale find of theirs that just didn't fit with the more modern look of their home anymore.  It actually opens up and is an old film developing set up.  I doubt we'll ever open it, as it's made a fantastic addition to our living room as a new end-table.  The lighting in our LR isn't the best, so these pictures definitely don't do it justice.  You'll just have to come see in person!

  

5.  My homemade bag....my first bag and I'm so proud!

You'll see this bag throughout the NYC pictures...it was made specifically for the trip and I couldn't have been happier with how perfect it was.

6.  Taylor's Church Choir program

I have a lot of pictures from this....but I won't be posting many as they all tend to look the same.  I sure do love my awesome niece.

7.  Ashley's brick at Veteran's Park

Veteran's Park here in Arlington is in the process of building a Heroes Park of sorts.  It's to honor military, servicemen, etc.  My mom got a brick for Ash, along with our good friends Clayton, Brandon and Christine - all Army.  Brandon and Christine are married and are still active.  They are home for now, but will be headed back to the desert soon.  Clayton is inactive and Ash is officially out of the Army for good!  As of May 27, he is no longer property of the United States Army, and I can definitely breathe easier.  He got a really rockin - and by rockin, I mean mass produced and extremely government-ish - certificate in the mail showing his honorable discharge.  It'll get framed and hung very soon.

8.  NYC

B-E-A-utiful Central Park - I believe this part is called "The Mall" - seen in all kinds of movies and tv shows.

Pretty self-explanatory :)

Flickr is taking longer than I thought, so I'll post the link tomorrow...I want you to see them all!  Have a good Friday night!

Friday the 13th

I have edited my NYC pictures down from 600+ (yes, you read right) to about 115. I'm in the process of getting them up on flickr and then I'll post the link. I have a new found love for Photoshop after getting my new camera.

The pictures I promised last time will probably be uploaded to flickr as well. I'm finding it's a lot easier to upload them all there at once then on here one at a time. Of course, I will post some of my faves here, but definitely not all...I don't have that kind of time anymore.

I forgot to mention we got the CD of all of our engagement and wedding pictures (from Simple Moments Photography)...and looking through them made me remember how much I loved them! Here's one of my new favorites:



It has been a really rough morning already....apparently Friday the 13th is not just a superstition. I'm not going into details, but your prayers are appreciated. I know it's sometimes hard to pray when you don't know what you're praying for...so here's a little guidance. We are in dire need of peace, guidance, and faith in life in general. We thought our first year of marriage was supposed to be the hardest, and while it was by no means easy, this year is coming in a close second already.

I promise to have some crafty stuff soon and hopefully this sappy stuff can go away for a while. I probably seem like Debbie-Downer all the time, but know this is a huge transition period for us, and not knowing how it's going to end creates major stress for me. I'm working daily on letting go.

I hope to be back sometime during the weekend with a more exciting post!

Quick...and I mean quick

So I'm a horrible blogger, this I know. Internet is finally back up at home, but I haven't had 5 minutes to even think about blogging all these pictures I keep talking about. In lieu of pictures (as I just don't have time right now), I will instead give you a list of pictures I will eventually be putting up...I swear I'm not full of empty promises.

1. One-year anniversary date at Craft

2. Newly organized/added to craft room

3. Of course new pics of the kids

4. Our new dining room table (finally!!) and the fabulous freebie we got with it

5. My new favorite purse - made by me!!

6. Taylor's church choir program

7. Ashley's brick at Veteran's Park

8. NYC PICTURES!!!

9. I'm sure I could think of more...but that's all I got for now.

I leave tomorrow night at 6 for NYC...I can't even begin to explain the excitement. I am in dire need of a vaca, and could it get any better? I'll let you know when I get back...this is my maiden voyage to the Big Apple. Be sure to keep your peepers peeled on the Today Show for me, my mom and my aunt...maybe we'll get our 10 seconds of fame!

Lastly - a huge answered prayer:

That's right...the credit card is paid off! We ended up with quite a bit of debt after Ashley's dad passed away in December. God has been good to us and we've been able to pay it off in 6 months. If there is ever a testimony for tithing, we have it. All in all, we've been able to pay off about $9,000 on this card since January. All the charges were unplanned events (funeral, fence blowing down requiring a new one, etc) but we continued to stay faithful and God provided, as He always does. I can assure you we DO NOT have that kind of extra cash flow, but through bonuses and various other events, it was all taken care of. With the exception of the normal car and house payments, we are officially debt free. I can't tell you how good that feels.

Ok - I really have to jet. I might get some pics up tonight...but it's highly unlikely.

Wish me luck in NYC and I can assure you there will be pictures when I get back!!

DoDeca is always educational

A text from my awesome cousin Becca (aka DoDeca):

"In case you were wondering, you have phyrrhotism. I thought you ought to know."

It's time to learn - phyrrhotism.

I sure do love her.

To hold you over...

Since I know you're all just dying for new pictures (sense the sarcasm??)....




This is one of my new favorites...not sure why, but it makes me happy. I didn't have time to copy and paste all the new pics over from my home computer...so you'll have to wait a little longer for the rest.

Until then...enjoy my sweet baby.

Cool Whip

My face hurts....one of my questions to God will be "why did you have to give me skin that burns so easily? And why, when I try to be good and put on sunscreen, am I STILL punished with bright red skin that ruins my day?"

Spent Sunday and Monday out at Possum Kingdom lake with Ash's fam - had a blast as always. The blog title...random quote from Family Guy that was said countless times by cousin Lance which always put a smile on our faces.

Ash has a massive sunburn as well....maybe the 3rd of his life. He doesn't really know how to handle it because he always tans. We used spray sunscreen that apparently just didn't cut it. I boycott spray sunscreen forever.

Still no internet at home, which means no pictures right now. I know it seems I'm full of empty promises.

Beck is headed overseas until July 16...keep her in your prayers for safety as she goes to spread the love of Christ.

I have a lot of things I want to post about, and as soon as we get the internet back up at home, I hope to get it all posted...keep your fingers crossed for me.

Have a great short week.

Mama's Cousin Kim

A quick post to ask for your prayers.

My mom's cousin Kim went into surgery a couple of weeks ago for a herniated disc (or some other fairly routine procedure relating to a disc) in her back and the surgeon knicked her spinal cord. She spent days in the hospital with spinal fluid leaking, and then were unable to do an MRI or CT scan to find out where the leak was coming from. So they had to go back in for a blind surgery to find the leak. They found there were actually two places that needed fixing, so they took care of it and after recovery she headed home.

My mom just called and she was admitted back into the hospital this morning for various issues - fluid and blood leaking from the incision, pain from her back all the way down her legs (blood clots), excrutiating pain that has not subsided since the first surgery, the list goes on.

On top of all of this, she is diabetic and cannot be on her meds with all the other medication they have her on right now, so that's only complicating things further.

My mom has been able to be a source of strength for her aunt (Kim's mother) in all of this as my mom went through a similar situation - major complications from surgery - with my dad before I was born. The doctors will not return my Great Aunt's phone calls, she can't get answers, which has to be the hardest part.

Please pray for strength for the family and that God will give my Great Aunt the words and discernment she needs in order to ask the right questions. She deserves to be told what's going on, and while now is not the time to talk about lawsuits, my mom is trying to stress to her the importance of keeping documentation of everything going on.

Thanks for your prayers and support.

On another note, internet has been bunk for the past couple of weeks at home, which means no blogs with all my new pictures. There will be a mondo post coming soon....once the Time Warner nazis get our internet fixed.

la fin

He's done!

Believe it or not I haven't even had a chance to think about blogging since last Thursday, but we found out Thursday night that Ash passed all his classes so he's going to graduate!

I know it's silly that I was so stressed, but I know he was nervous, and usually if he's nervous it has to be pretty bad.

We won't really get to enjoy life as two graduates until I finish my CPA and get through another busy season, so we have a good year until that happens, but he will be able to cook me dinner every night :) It's been weird to have him here when I get home, but nice to have him around always.

I love him and am so proud of him. His family is super stoked as he is only the second to get a degree out of his whole family. I know his daddy is looking down on him with great pride. He always said he went back to show his dad he wasn't a screw-up....I know his dad always knew he wasn't a screw up, just made poor decisions sometimes. When we went through everything with his dad in December everyone kept telling Ash how proud his daddy was, and how his best moment was being a part of our wedding. I am honored that I could be part of giving his dad that happiness and I know his daddy is around always.

I'm so proud of my stud.

Funk

I'm in a huge funk....seems to be a trend right now. I can't really pinpoint what it is - I think it's a mixture of a lot of things. The desire for a solid group of friends, a really good church home...so many things.

One of my favorites right now...

Because He Lives

God sent His son, they called Him, Jesus
He came to love, heal and forgive
He lived and died to buy my pardon
An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives!

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow
Because He lives, all fear is gone
Because I know He holds the future
And life is worth the living
Just because He lives!

How sweet to hold a newborn baby
And feel the pride and joy he gives
But greater still the calm assurance
This child can face uncertain days because He Lives!

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow
Because He lives, all fear is gone
Because I know He holds the future
And life is worth the living
Just because He lives!

And then one day, I'll cross the river
I'll fight life's final war with pain
And then, as death gives way to vict'ry
I'll see the lights of glory and I'll know He lives!

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow
Because He lives, all fear is gone
Because I know He holds the future
And life is worth the living
Just because He lives!

Add the "funk" to a stomach ache since last night, and a stormy day ahead....not the best Wednesday on the books.

May 12, 2008

1 year.



It's amazing to look at how incredibly fast this year has gone and how much has happened.



This time last year, I was trying to stay calm after finding out our tables and chairs were very late.



I was watching all my girls get ready, waiting patiently for my moment to walk down the aisle.



I sit and think about it and it truly feels like it was yesterday.



So much has happened, and as promised last week, I will post a blog with some pictures and such, but no time right now. (Speaking of, I had all kinds of pictures edited and ready to post last night, then our internet went out. It was God saying "nope, now is not the time").



It has been an amazing year, and I look forward to 100 more with my amazing husband. We've had our ups and downs, but who doesn't their first year? I really feel like we've grown so close and we couldn't have made it through all that's happened without God as our center and point of strength. I won't get mushy (that's for the "anniversary" post), but I want my stud Ash to know how much I love him and I can't see my life any other way.



We are starting yet another phase in life now that he's done with school. I'm really excited to continue growing old together.



I love you Shug.

**Also - I was busy yesterday getting stuff ready for our Mother's Day dinner, so don't judge me because I didn't have a mother's day post like everyone else in the world :). We had a fantastic evening. Ashley's mom came down and we all had dinner over at my parents. Sad to say it was not drama-free, as any holiday rarely is around my house. We ended up enjoying our time together and saying thanks to our mom's for all they do. I have pictures of another part of yesterday, but I'm an idiot and didn't think to take pictures with our mom's....I'm a bad Rebel-owner and should probably be stripped of my priveleges.

Happy Late Mother's Day mamasita! I love you and cannot fully express my gratitude for all that you have done in my life.

pick me up before you go go

It's Friday, and it couldn't have come soon enough. I am seeing the light at the end of this 6-month work tunnel. I can smell the scrapbooking supplies, fabric, thread, camera, and whatever other hobby I decide to pick up...it's so close.

We have a good night planned - we're celebrating our one year anniversary tonight. The anniversary isn't until Monday, but it's so much more fun to celebrate when you don't have to get up and go to work the next day. It's so hard to believe it's been a year!! Time sure does fly. I'll do a special anniversary post sometime next week - I can't promise it will be Monday, but I'll do my best.

We're headed to Kraft tonight, and then maybe "IronMan" after. We keep hearing how amazing this movie is...I wasn't sold by the previews but Ash has been super excited and the reviews have just fueled his desire. We'll see how it pans out - we're super lame and usually by about 9 on Friday we're ready to veg after a long week...especially a week full of finals and stress.

I have no more pictures today - looks like my editing time will be limited to weekends - but look for some next week.

Happy Friday and have a great weekend! Try not to burn up in the 90+ temps tomorrow if you live in DFW....hello Texas Summer.

Rollercoaster

So I won't have any pictures (call me a hypocrite)...because 1. I'm writing this at work (shame, I know) and 2. I haven't had a chance to edit the new pics yet. I went from really high point in my last post, to a really low one now - allow me to vent.

I'm tired of working.
I'm tired of not having time for anything that I want to do, but only doing things I have to do.
I'm tired of not being able to see my family.
I'm tired of not being able to see my friends.
I'm tired of not being able to be a good friend when I need to be.
I'm tired of not feeling like I'm in control.

This is a huge struggle for me right now. I'm working so much - still - that I don't feel like I get to enjoy life right now. There are small things, like stupid high school tv shows, that I have to buy on iTunes (because the tivo nazis hate me) in the hopes I get to watch them someday. I know it will slow down, but it seems like life is one big hurdle after another to really get to a point where I can enjoy life.

High school. Check.
Bachelor's Degree. Check.
Master's Degree. Check.
Busy Season. In progress.
CPA. Next in line.

I'm almost there - CPA is my last big mess to deal with and I hope I can knock that out soon. I won't divulge too many details because it just adds to the self-induced pressure if more people know all the knitty-gritty details.

All this to say - well, whine - I know I'm in a really good place in life, and I hope and pray I can get to a point where I can take it day by day. I focus so much on planning and what's next that I feel like I miss out on enjoying today for what it is. I know I am blessed to have the life I do, and I am grateful, but when I've been working 65+ hours a week since Thanksgiving, I get burnt out. I keep hearing it will be slowing down soon - I'll believe it when I see it.

I know my biggest issue is that I feel the need to be in control, when that's not how it should be. I heard a long time ago that stress is the result of not letting God be in control. I have to have a chat with myself, usually a couple times of year, and tell myself "it will be ok". No matter how much I stress, God will take care of everything....and He always does. I find great peace in the fact that if my laundry doesn't get done tonight, it's ok if it's tomorrow or the next day...we will be ok. The small things that drive me to insanity are so insignificant that I have to just let go.

This has gotten long - chalk it up to new BC medicine I'm on that's making me so moody and hormonal that I just shut down. I'm whining, but hey, it is my blog, so I can cry if I want to :)

Thanks for your prayers.

1. I am grateful for my ever-patient husband who puts up with me when I freak out (on a pretty regular basis).
2. I am grateful for friends who pray for me and check in on me when they know by the sound of my voice everything is not ok.
3. I am grateful for a Mom who is amazing and comforting - I GREATLY look forward to days where I get to put a smile on either my mom or dad's face and thank them for all they've done for me.
4. I am grateful to have a job.
5. I am grateful for a loving God who always provides.

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.