To Do List

-Finish Jack's birthday book

-Plan Jack's birthday party

-Plan Elliot's birthday party

-Start to make/gather preschool materials to work on with Elliot this year at home

-Plan out our family schedule for the next year, including daily/weekly activities

I just got a good chunk of Jack's birthday book done today during nap time. Lately, I've been so tired again (I was doing okay there for a while, what happened??) so I've had no motivation to do anything productive during nap time, which isn't good. I've got to get my booty into gear to get all of this stuff done in the next few weeks! Fall is so busy for us, but I love it & am looking forward to all of our fun birthday celebrations & activities!

Life Lately

God is still using the Breaking Free Beth Moore Bible study to kick my tail. The first couple of weeks provided enough for me to pray through for a long time, but alas, the study is 10 weeks long. I'm trying to remain in a place of letting God transform me.

Jack is sleeping a lot better for naps, but just as bad as a newborn at night. I think he's legitimately hungry, so I can't do much about that. I'm praying for strength, energy, patience, etc. every day & praying that God will help him sleep better eventually. This season is rough but I know it won't last. (At least, I'm pretty sure it won't.)

We bought plane tickets to Italy! We were provided with the opportunity to meet our friends Zac & Cara in Tuscany for a week & we couldn't pass it up. We've been to Florence & it is my favorite place in the world so far, so I can't wait to go back. We'll get to see more of the countryside this time & get to experience more true Italian life, off the beaten tourist path. It will be so great to get away with my love & best friend, too! 

I've started trying to be more intentional with my time with Elliot. As a result, the TV is off almost all day & we have had some good lessons going over letters, practicing drawing lines & circles, etc. He is at an age where he picks up things so quickly; it's so funny to hear him say things & see what he does that he saw us do. He loves to play with his cars & trains, have play dates with his friends, & go to the park, the children's museum, or the zoo. He loves his brother & goes back & forth between wanting to play with him, & taking away his toys or getting upset if Jack touches him. 

Jack is all of a sudden no longer a little baby. His personality is developing & he has so much more energy. He has decided he wants to be a big boy too, so he loves sitting up (if he's laying down or reclining, he tries to sit up straight), & if you put him on his stomach, he'll lift up & fling his arms & legs around like he's trying to crawl but just can't figure it out. He loves to watch Elliot & thinks he's hilarious. He's still super snuggly & now likes to burrow his face into my shoulder, particularly when he's tired. He is super smiley & rarely cries, except when he's hungry or really tired. It's so fun to see him develop! I thought it wouldn't be as fun the second time because I've experienced it before, but nope, it's just as great.

2011 to 2012

2011 is over. With a baby, a year sure does go by fast! I already know my memory is failing regarding what last year held for us since I was sleep deprived for a good part of it, so I'd like to write out some of the highlights of last year, for my own sake.

-Traveled to North Carolina for Zac & Cara's wedding - Elliot did great. Having a baby in a hotel room is much easier when you can put them on another bed & know they won't fall off!

-Got food poisoning on my birthday (not a good memory, but memorable nonetheless).

-Visited our friends in Houston a couple of times - the Yaws, the Smiths, the Lamberts, Kristin, Aaron.

-Paige & Jason came to visit.

-Celebrated our anniversary at a yummy French restaurant then went to see a movie.

-Got away for a weekend to Dripping Springs & stayed at a B&B while Elliot stayed with my mom & sister.

-I quit my job, worked for a few more months, then was able to really quit. :)

-Josh started looking for a new job in a different industry in June, got an offer a couple of weeks later, started with a new company & is thriving (won the first MVP award!).

-Found out we were going to become an aunt & uncle in March 2012!

-I went to a girls' weekend in August with my close friends from high school.

-Started leading a Life Group.

-Elliot turned one year old! We had some close friends & family over for a Pooh themed party.

-Went to our second Family Life Weekend to Remember Marriage Conference at the Hyatt Hill Country (love that place!). It was really good for us to get away & be able to talk about our marriage & see how far we have come in the past 4.5 years.

-Went to Disney World. Elliot did great with traveling & having a crazy sleep schedule, though he ended up in our bed instead of the pack n play - he would have none of it! Got food poisoning the last day & missed out on Epcot :(. I don't think I've ever had food poisoning, then twice in one year!

-Had our second Roberts family Christmas at home, & rang in the new year at home by ourselves - I think it's the first year that I've never had any plans. But it was nice!

Now on to 2012! As a friend wrote on her blog, I know two things: 1) I will experience trouble, & 2) Jesus will be with me!

So it's been over a month...

I know, it's ridiculous. I mean, I don't work anymore, so shouldn't I have time to blog? The problem is, Elliot doesn't really like for me to do anything on the computer while he's awake. I can get away with cooking or doing laundry (most days), but the computer, not so much. Which leaves only nap time or after bedtime. & I have other things to do, so blogging gets pushed to the back burner.

Elliot is a whole year old!! This year has gone by so fast & at the same time, it feels like it's been forever. It sure causes me to reminisce over what things were like a year ago, & remembering being hugely pregnant & being in the hospital & all of that... crazy. He's definitely a little toddler now. He walks really well, though still enjoys crawling about half the time because he's just faster that way (he tried almost running the other day, which didn't really work out!). He has a sweet little personality, & seems to be a rule follower like his mama - though we also see that human nature rebelling at times! He seems to do new things weekly, many of which crack us up!! The other day he was sticking his tongue out & moving it around for a good five minutes. Good cheap fun! :)

We are entering the busy fall season. First of all, it finally feels like fall outside which is AMAZING. I am enjoying a cup of pumpkin spice coffee as we speak. We went to the pumpkin patch last week & I got my must-have caramel apple. I love this time of year - it is my favorite!

God has been teaching me a lot lately, as well. It has been a good season of growth & really seeing Him move in the people around me. I praise Him for being so intricately involved in our lives - He truly orchestrates even the tiniest details for His glory.

Okay, time to go fold laundry before Elliot wakes up! Thanks for hanging in there during this dry blogging season. :)

I have time...

I decided I should blog, but I don't feel inspired. I feel like anything I write will be mundane. There have been times I have wanted to write, but didn't have time. Thus the lack of writing! Oh well. Maybe you should read this at 9 pm to help you fall asleep, because it's now or [later than now] so this might be boring.

The past couple of weeks have been busy around here. Not necessarily time-busy, but emotionally busy. Josh searched for, found, & accepted a new job, quit his current job a couple of weeks ago, & is in the last couple of days before he's done. This has been stressful for him - quitting a job is never easy. & neither is the transition. But he is excited for his new opportunity & ready to get going. Fortunately, next week he will be in between jobs, so we get the whole week to hang out! That is a nice consolation prize, considering we don't get to take a vacation this fall now that he won't have the vacation time. (I'm pretty sad about that.) I wrote up a to-do list for the week, which includes important things like babyproofing the cabinets so Elliot can roam the house, & getting new internet & cell phone plans, & also equally-important-but-in-a-different-kind-of-way things such as "get a snow cone" & "go to the pool." It should be fun.

That's it for now, must enjoy some coffee before Elliot wakes up... I'll have more to share, but I won't say it'll be soon, because really, who knows. :)

Dedication is more than just a day...

My oh my, poor blog, how I have neglected you. Or rather, I have neglected the five of you who read it. I hope you are sticking with me. :-)

Life has been good. I feel like I have hit a good, new normal. My work load has evened out, for the most part, & I am able to delegate the time for each part of my jobs: wife, mom, homemaker, part-time employee. My house is even clean! How about that! I have definitely learned to extend grace to myself for the times that I just can't do it all. Josh & Elliot are my priority, & so if something else doesn't get done perfectly, that is okay. Life will go on! I am thankful to work for someone who cares about our family, & understands when I need to put work on pause to tend to Elliot. I feel like I have a good balance going on right now - well, minus exercise, that one is still lacking a bit. But as time goes on, I get a little more energy, so high hopes for getting back to some kind of exercise routine.

We dedicated Elliot to the Lord on Sunday at church. It was a special time for us to stand before our church body & say that we will do everything we can to lead him to the Lord, & for them to agree with us to come along side us & do what they can as well. I know God has created Elliot's life for a good purpose, & our role is to try our best to raise him to know God & to love His Word & obey His leading.

Part of that, that I am having a hard time with, is knowing that Elliot's life is in God's hands. As a mom, I take care of his basic needs - feeding him, keeping him clean, helping him sleep, etc. I protect him as best I can. But this has also brought a heaviness on me, an anxiety. I am responsible for this little person's well-being?! What if I mess up?? What if I do something terribly wrong? Oh, what a heavy burden to carry! It is not mine to carry! I am taking on more than my role. His life is NOT dependent on me. He is God's, & God will protect him regardless of my actions. Now, I'm obviously not saying I have no responsibility - but I am not fully responsible for him. I can't be. I do what I am supposed to do, & make decisions as best I can, but I am not going to mess up God's plan for Elliot, I'm just not.

I'm trying so hard to walk in faith, trusting God fully. A result of that will be peace & joy over my role as a mom. I haven't succeeded yet; I still deal with a physical feeling of anxiety. I have always struggled with fear, in different ways, & this is just a new version of it for me. But I know that this is something God wants to do in me, so I am prayerful in it. I want to trust Him with my children. I know I can. It's just walking that out, day by day, in my actions & emotions.

In other news, Elliot is five months now. He is continuing to grow like a weed. He is at least 27 inches long & about 16 lbs (these are my measurements so I know they are not exact) - 91st% for height, 32nd% for weight. Our little string bean! His weight had dropped off a month ago to 20th%, so I'm glad he bumped it up this month. He loves to stand (it's really hard sometimes to get him to sit!), loves having his fingers in his mouth (or anything, really), & has developed some fun new squeals & talks a lot more now. I think he may be teething - he has had some super grumpy moments lately, which is sad for our normally happy little guy.

Jason & Paige are coming to visit us this weekend, so we are very excited to spend time with old friends. I also got to spend time with a couple of friends last week. I am so thankful for the friendships that we have & are able to keep up with, though we don't live close to each other. I also love to see them loving on our little man. It is a blessing!

Aggies & sicknesses

A lot has happened in the past couple of weeks! We went back to the Motherland (College Station, of course), Elliot got a staph infection, I got food poisoning at my birthday dinner... what fun! Well, I guess only one of those things was fun.

We hadn't been back to College Station in a long time, which is not okay, so we went back for a basketball game & tailgating (which was really just hanging out inside of an RV; no tailgate involved). I love driving into that town... seeing the sign off of Highway 21 - "College Station - Texas A&M University," rounding the corner to see Kyle Field & the smokestacks appear above the trees, passing Research Park (our park, where we had many dates, including our first date & the our engagement)... all the memories come flooding back. Such a good time. I love that all my memories of those four years are good ones.

Naturally, we went back to Sweet Eugene's for a java shake... twice. :-) Oreo & vanilla. The vanilla was superb, just as good as any I had while studying for hours on end in that place. Sigh.

The day before we left for CS, I noticed that the tip of one of Elliot's fingers was really red. It didn't look like an ingrown fingernail, & it was hot, so we took him to an urgent care clinic Saturday morning. Staph infection sounds scary, & it is really contagious, but we got him on some antibiotics (that turned his poop green, like he had eaten grass... gross) & they cleared it right up.

Then it was my birthday! I love my birthday, & I usually enjoy making a big deal of it & taking advantage of my birthday... & birthday week... & birthday month... but this year, baby + work kept me so occupied, my birthday almost just slipped by. What a shame. But Josh baked me a funfetti cake (my favesies) & took me out to dinner Saturday night, where I had clam chowder & fish & chips... let's just say I won't be eating clam chowder again for a while. I can't be too sure, but I'm banking on the yucks coming from those big chunks of clam. The next morning at church, my stomach started hurting, so we went home & I had some soup & went to take a nap, & woke up with chills. We thought it was the flu, but the fever was gone Monday morning & I felt significantly better. I am still getting queasy now & then, which probably means I should not eat cake & enchiladas....

So, there is our life as of late. That, plus a lot of work, that will hopefully slow down very soon. I need to clean my house!

(I am fully aware I could have just spent this time cleaning instead of blogging. But who does that??)

Time for Normal

Today is a big fat *sigh* to me. In a good way. Finally, Christmas gift buying is over, traveling is over (for a couple weeks, anyways!), busyness is over... phewwwww. This week, I have time to clean my house, how about that??

I am feeling thankful for newness today, as well. Yes, it's a new year, but that is just a coincidence for me - for me, it's getting back to normal like I mentioned, but also I feel like I'm getting a new start with things - back to eating well, back to exercise (at least, I have high hopes for this one starting soon, I just need to find the time), & back to spending time with the Lord in the morning with my cup of coffee. It's these things that are just good to me! & a good mixture of busyness & laziness have kept those things from being the norm lately. Since Elliot was born, I have felt like I've been in a bit of a funk, unable to get to normal routine & do anything more than the things that were pressing. All I did was take care of Elliot (because his life kind of depends on me), do laundry (because we need clothes), grocery shop (because we need food), & work (because I had a deadline). But in a less pressing way, I NEED to spend time with God every day, in the Word & in prayer; I NEED to exercise; I NEED to be purposeful about eating well. These are not New Year's resolutions to me - this is getting back to normal. This is starting fresh, full of grace. Oh yeah, & the desire to fit into my jeans again, sooner than later. :-)

We rang in the New Year in North Carolina at Zac & Cara's wedding. It was really fun to spend time with them, & their reception was a blast. Elliot did really well the first 3 days, then all that lack of napping & too much car-seating caught up with him, & he didn't do so well the day we came home. But today he's back to normal, sleeping lots. Anyways, Zac & Cara have moved overseas, so no vacations with them for at least a year & a half, but they will resume one day, & until then, plenty of Skype dates.

This month is filling up with fun, less stressful plans, like a Cotton Bowl party Friday, going to College Station, & my birthday :-) . It'll be a good month.

not breathing, food, laughs...

I'm sick. :-(

Josh was sick last week & we're pretty sure it was a sinus infection, & pretty sure that's what I have too. The weather has been making my allergies act up, & now my sinuses are pinched shut, my head is throbbing, & it hurts to swallow (which in turn makes my head hurt worse... fun). Even my scalp hurts.

I decided the worst part about having a sinus infection is the fact that it makes sleep miserable. When you're sick, sleep is great; you have an excuse to sleep in, take naps, & rest helps you feel better. When your head feels like it's going to explode every time you lay down, it makes sleep not all that fun. Poo. I wish I could at least enjoy the fact that I can't work out by sleeping in, but no such luck.

Done hearing me whine? Me too.

If you would like some new recipes to try out, go to our recipe blog; there have been several new recipes posted in the past couple of weeks, including the recipe for beef rice curry I made last night.

Dennis Quaid was on Ellen again today... I love that show. If you want a good laugh, see the last time he was on there... it's hilarious.

A random update for you

I just got in my Gevalia coffee... yumm. Isn't it fun to get packages, too?

I also have become quite the tea drinker. A year ago I didn't drink any tea - not iced, not hot, nothin. Then Josh & I discovered Teavana last summer, which pulled me in to the hot tea world. Now I drink two or three cups of hot tea a day! Always peppermint at night, then I have currently in my pantry, green tea (which I will probably always keep on hand), rooibos, & chamomile with honey & vanilla. I love that I like a drink that is actually good for you (opposed to diet drinks), plus it helps with that whole 8 glasses of water a day thing.

January is a great month. Partly because it's a new year, looking forward to what the Lord will do. But mainly because it's my birthday month. :-) I love birthdays! I kind of make a big deal out of them... which can be bad when no one realizes my ridiculously high expectations (it's interesting that I even have high expectations regarding my birthday, because I tend to live life with a "let's not get too excited so I don't get let down" kind of way... but that's another quirk for another day). But thanks to Josh & my parents & Haley, I have people who make it a very fun time. So, yay for January!

& yay for this week! Tonight Josh & I are going out to dinner... this is a rare occurance but much needed, as he has been working hard on a project he finishes today & we need to get out of the house & just have fun & good conversation. Yay for tomorrow, because with it comes the return of AMERICAL IDOL! Oh yes. We love this show. I think it's the only show year-round that we actually attempt to watch every episode of. (I know that was really bad grammar, ending a sentence with the word "of." Ah, did it again.) & yay for this weekend, because one of our good friends from high school is coming to visit us, Mr. Aaron Schrank himself. It should be good times... except for the obligatory game of Settlers of Catan that I agreed to (what was I thinking???).

I just remembered, I have a couple of book reviews to write up... hopefully coming soon!!

Here's to January!! :-)

weekend!

Free pastry next Tuesday at Starbucks... yum. (Click on the link to print the coupon.)

I'm so looking forward to this weekend. We don't have any plans except a wedding tomorrow night (& it's only about 30 minutes away so we can sleep in our own bed... yay for close weddings!). So tonight we are going to have a nice relaxing evening & watch Pink Panther 2. We loved the first one (dancing scene anyone?) so hopefully this one is good too!

I also love love love wedding cake. My mouth is watering now.

I should tell you we also loved Night at the Museum 2. I was not impressed with the storyline for the first bit of it, but the hilarious moments throughout the movie totally redeemed it. Plus, it was in DC so we had fun saying stuff like, "oh, remember that? wait, he would not have walked to the Lincoln Memorial on his way to another museum, duh!"

So, yay for sleeping in & relaxing this weekend. Zac & Cara are coming in next weekend & we are so excited!!! So we are anticipating that as well. :-)

I leave you with something I read in the devo I received today that just happened to come at the perfect time for me:

"You are never more valuable to God than the day you were born."

lots of scripture, & the weekend

Here are the scriptures we have memorized/are memorizing since last month... we are going over all of them each week so we just continue to build the amount of scripture we have memorized.

"The Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance."
2 Peter 3:9

"Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, & he in God. So we have come to know & to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, & whoever abides in love abides in God, & God abides in him."
1 John 4:15-16 (we also memorized 17-19 previously)

"No distrust made him [Abraham] waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what He had promised."
Romans 4:20-21

"For now we see in a mirror dimly but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known."
1 Corinthians 13:12

"...that according to the riches of His glory He may grant you to be strengthened with power through His spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith - that you, being rooted & grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth & length & height & depth, & to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God."
Ephesians 3:16-19 (we are memorizing that one in two parts since it's long)

"I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give an account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, & be your words you will be condemned."
Matthew 12:36-37

This weekend we are going to Austin. It will be nice to get away & sleep in, eat a cupcake (duh), & hang out with my parents. I would like to lay out too if the weather is nice enough.

I'm glad the sun is back out! & now everything is turning green since we finally got some rain! My mom came & helped me plant some bushes in the front yard & I am quite pleased with them.

Have a good weekend!

i love cows!

I just love San Antonio.

During almost all of February, the AT&T Center sends the Spurs on the road so it can host the San Antonio Rodeo. The Rodeo is so much fun! I mean I'm not a huge fan of mean men wrestling poor baby cows to the ground by twisting their necks (if you have never seen this event, don't freak out, it's not as bad as I'm making it sound)... but besides that it is fun! Two years in a row now, we have gone on Christian night. Last year we saw Toby Mac & Jeremy Camp, & last night we saw Switchfoot. They were great, of course... I think I have seen them four times now!

Josh & I were sitting there, talking about how it is a tradition now to go to the rodeo every year (because with me, if you do it twice, it's tradition), & that we were also planning on going to see a Broadway play (Wicked) for the second year in a row so that means we have to do that every year from now on as well. We also love going to Spurs games (if I could figure out a way to get cheap tickets we'd go a lot!). & I was thinking of all these super fun things... & that I just love living here. It's such a great city. It's small from the day-to-day, I never drive more than ten or fifteen minutes anywhere on the average day, but there are so many opportunities to do fun things when we want to! After growing up in Roswell & Midland, I am totally loving living in this city!

Oh & yes it is true... I love cows! I would love a pet cow if we ended up on land one day. They're so cute!

i heart francine rivers

I am reading "The Scribe" by Francine Rivers, about Silas of the New Testament (it's fictional but based on the Bible), & I read a couple of things yesterday I liked a lot:

"How many times had I seen the Good News greeted with anger & scorn? Most people don't want to hear the truth, let alone embrace it. To accept Christ's gift means admitting that everything on which we based our lives before has gained us nothing. It means surrendering to a power greater than ourselves. Few want to surrender to anything but their lusts. We cling to our vanity & go on striving to find our own way when there is only one way."

Then, Silas, Paul & Luke see a rabbi (a leader of the synagogue, they did not like what Paul et al. had to teach) get knocked down & beaten, so they take care of him, while telling him about Jesus....

"Sosthenes tried not to listen at first. He wept & covered his ears. But gradually he did listen. 'It was not your words that convinced me,' he told us. 'It was your love. I was your enemy, Paul, & you & Silas lifted me up.'"

So powerful...

Sage is currently freaking out at a squirrel in the front yard. Making squeaky noises & bouncing around the room. It's pretty funny. :-)

Josh got me "You've Got Mail," "Notting Hill," & "While You Were Sleeping" for my birthday (I asked for the first two, & he bought the latter because it was $5 :-) ) & I'm pretty excited to watch them!

Today is my dad's birthday. Happy Birthday Daddy!

I just ate a snack of Gouda cheese & a 100-calorie pack of Oreo snack cakes.

Yes this post has been very random. Now I'm going to end with a scripture that reminded me Monday where my hope lies...

"Lord, don't hold back your tender mercies from me. My only hope is in your unfailing love & faithfulness." Psalm 40:11

Those little green guys are in my face

I have a sinus infection. Poooooo.

How did I know, you ask? Well half my face hurt. The left side of my throat hurt, my left eye, ear, eyebrow, scalp hurt. Oh & the gums on the left side of my mouth were swollen. It's so bizarre. Apparently I have very impressive post-nasal drip.

I have also become a fan of Mucinex. The Walgreens version of course.

For those of you who have been reading my blog for a long time, & remember when I got sick my senior year & put up a picture of an infected throat, you should be glad I am not putting up a lovely mucus visual. :-)

Oh yes, there is a new book review coming soon. You're going to need to read this book, I don't care who you are! It will come most likely next week.

I'm going to go continue to let my mucus drain!

tmi??

Mmm, puh-kin innards!

Meet Ralph! He is our first annual jack-o-lantern. He's a happy fella. We used his innards & made yummy, spicy roasted pumpkin seeds. Sage helped us carve him in the front yard, & it turns out she loves pumpkin, we could hardly keep her away from it (but we did let her have a couple pieces).

This past Saturday we went to a pumpkin patch about an hour away with some friends from life group (they had really yummy caramel apples), then Sunday was our church's Fall Festival which was also lots of fun. I love fall things! I'm wearing a long-sleeved t-shirt today, isn't that great? & socks! & I made a cranberry chicken yesterday & it was quite yummy. I'm working on finding some other fall/winter recipes to experiment with.

Josh & I have dentist appointments soon. That is not fall-related, nor fun, yet it is indeed important.

One Issue

I am a very opinionated person. Although I will write on here about Truth & things of the Lord, even if some people disagree (because I don't care if people disagree, because it is Truth), I do try to stay away from airing my personal opinions of things on here, mainly because only a few people REALLY know me, & I just want to stay away from stirring up controversy with people that don't know my heart.

I also hate politics. I tune out of political conversations (just ask Josh, or Kristin), mainly because so many people get so heated about things that have no eternal value. Don't get me wrong. I am informed, I allow information to come in, I just don't like discussing it all the time.

So those two things said, I have avoided any talk (on my blog) of the election & alllllll the stuff that has been on TV, Internet, radio, etc. for the past year.

However.

This is something I can't leave unsaid.

There are many, many issues I could discuss about the candidates, what they want to do, & what I think of it all. But in this election those things don't matter in regard to how I will vote.

I believe there is ONE issue of all these that God is passionate about, more than any other. That is how I will vote - for the candidate whose views & passions line up most with God's passion.

I will vote for life.

Three Things

1. Gas prices have fallen below $3 in San Antonio... WHOO!!!!

2. Josh & I just watched the premiere of Kath & Kim on the internet since we were gone last night... HILARIOUS.

3. So today I was mopping & smelled a horrible stench coming from our coat closet. It seemed to be coming from Josh's hunting vest so I took it outside, then aired out the closet (which in turn stunk up the rest of the house). When Josh got home he investigated & sure enough... he had left a dove in the pocket from last weekend. There has been a bird rotting in our house for the past week. SICK.

oh just some things

Sorry for the lack of posting lately. I'm not sure that I have an excuse, except that I haven't been inspired to post anything! I'll update you on our lives as of late.

-Kristin & I saw Anberlin in Houston last week & it was super loud & great! We got to eat Panera Bread & a couple of the biggest cupcakes you have ever seen. It was sugary delicious. & Kristin is my hero for teaching high schoolers. Slash, I think she's insane. :-)

-Paige, Molly, Bailey & Allison, my great friends from high school, came in town this weekend & we have some fun adventures, like eating to mariachi bands at the Riverwalk, devouring super yum pancakes & french toast at Magnolia Pancake Haus, feeding adorable zebras at the Wildlife Safari thing, & browsing cute shops in Gruene! There were some memories made!

-God has been refining me, changing who I am, & it is great. Hard sometimes too. But I have been praying, Lord, my heart & mind are completely Yours, change me & make me more like Jesus! & it's amazing that He ACTUALLY does. Who I am, what I think/say/do, the dynamic of my relationships are slowly but surely changing & becoming more like what God desires. It's a process but I am so thankful that He really truly wants to be intricately involved in every aspect of our lives, if only we will let Him.

-I have been in a women's Bible study this fall, studying Galatians, & Josh & I are doing an in-depth study of Romans. I love studying the Word, you never stop learning from it no matter how many times you have read it!

-It's getting cool soon... in the 80s this week, then by Sunday it should be in the 70s! I'm SO EXCITED!

-I want to start taking walks in the evening more often... it's so easy to just be lazy.

-I love my job & the people I work with. What a blessing.

-Sometimes I really miss my friends! Claire comes back to Texas Saturday!! :-) We just love that couple.

Oh I need to go get ready! So, the end!

what a stud

I have to brag.

Yesterday Josh got his second raise in 5 months!!! We were both very surprised but very thankful!! He's only been with the company a little over a year, but they have taken notice of not only his hard work, but the fact that he cares about people & of course is super friendly, & they have made it obvious that they are very impressed with him & want to invest in him because they want him to move up quickly. I'm so proud of him! He loves the Lord & his coworkers know that & I know God has HUGE plans to use Josh in his company.

I also got a raise earlier this week because lately I have taken on more responsibilities with the church. I have been encouraged & excited about my job after some recent blah-ness, so I'm thankful for what God is doing with that.

So, we are going to dinner to celebrate tonight! :-)