r&k

His light overcomes

2012-01-05T20:57:00.000-08:00

"The Lord knoweth them that are his" (2 Tim 2:19)

"You may be sighing and groaning because of inbred sin and mourning over your darkness, yet the Lord sees light in your heart, for He has put it there....The light within is the dawn of the eternal day." -Charles Spurgeon, Morning & Evening for January 5th (Evening Reading)

As I read this tonight, I felt comforted. I have been feeling very convicted lately of the "darkness" I have that comes with being human. I have become sad, upset with myself, and even angry at certain times at my own thoughts or actions, knowing that it is not what God has called me to. "Yet the Lord sees light in your heat, for He has put it there"-- I remember when I was about 14, and in youth group, I would thing that my "problems" in my life were not big- I did not commit big sins, and therefore I was fine. Everything was dandy-- I learned that this way of thinking is much more dangerous that being convicted of even the "smallest" sin. I have also learned that I can not let my sin discourage me from seeking His face.

"Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually." - Psalm 105:4
There have been times when I let my weakness overpower me and prevent me from seeking the Lord's strength. I am definitely a work in progress (aren't we all?), but His strength renews me. I am thankful for a God who knows me, and for the eternal day I can look forward to.

***P.S.***
I changed the look of my blog- the header is one I have been searching for! It was on my old blog from college, and I thought I had deleted it- lo and behold, I had it saved deep within my blogger accounts. So excited! It's been one of my favorite verses and I love the way it looks. :-)

Thankful

2011-11-22T18:01:00.001-08:00

Today I am thankful for so many things :)

A God who provides for and loves me. My joy is complete in Him.
A wonderful husband who strives to please Him and shows me love in every moment. He makes me laugh, listens to me, and is my best friend.
A church family that I am excited to grow with -- we are so thankful to have finally found our church home.
Two crazy pugs who make me laugh all the time.
A great graduate program that pushes me to my limit so I will be the best speech pathologist I can be.
A supportive and loving family that I get to see and talk to so often.
A fantastic school to work for and an amazing supervisor.
Where God has taken me these past few years.... Five years ago I would have never imagined to be where I am, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
Wonderful friends that I have, as spread out as we are, that still keep in touch and fill my life with joy.
A great house that we continue to make more "home-y".
Again, the love of my Father. He has blessed me so much.

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!

Balance

2011-11-04T22:42:00.000-07:00

This week has been crazy- I started it off with my first wreck, plus work, classes, and then trying to keep up with all the small things. I'd like to think that I'm a laid back person, but really- it's just me avoiding the fact that there is sooooo much to do, and then when it does pile up, my super-stress compensates for all of the things I was previously ignoring. I think that was a run-on, and I'll be happy if anyone understands me.

Oddly enough, I feel myself on the brink of peace. That's a new feeling for me (being CLOSE to peace), but I know God is trying to calm me before I let all of these meaningless things bother me. And I am trying to listen. Not doing as well as I'd wanted on a midterm = keep pressing on. What good does stressing do? I'm trying to remember that.

It was a wreck...

2011-10-31T20:47:00.000-07:00

Literally :( On my way home from work today, I got in a car accident. It could have been much worse, but I have never felt so shaken up in my life. Right after it happened, my whole body started tingling, and I'm lucky that there were people around to help me and get my car out of the way of traffic.

I won't say much more, other than that I am thanking God for His protection of everyone there. I will go to bed tonight thankful for another day of life.

A quarter of a century! ;)

2011-10-30T21:06:00.000-07:00

This weekend has been sooo much fun! I love that my hubs makes me feel so special all the time, but especially on my birthday. While at work on Friday, Russell called me to tell me we had a surprise date. Um, yes!! I love surprises, and I love dates :) We ended up at this cute little place called "Painting with a Twist". You can bring your own wine and you paint a painting with a bunch of other people in a class- it is sooo much fun, and I felt like an artist!

It was so much fun, and now our masterpieces are hanging in our room. What a great memory! I love it :)

On Saturday we went to the Magnolia Pancake Haus, and it was soooo yummy. I wish I had a picture of my yummy "Authentic Munchener Apfel Pfannekuchen". It was the wonder of a pancake x 100! It was basically like tasting heaven!

Midterms, Schmidterms, and other fun things

2011-10-25T19:24:00.000-07:00

Midterms... are... over!! Hallelujah! I am so happy about this. I only spent two weeks not cleaning my house, not doing laundry, etc. - It's time to get it together!! I know there is still a ton to do for school, but I am going to rejoice in this moment- I finished a major portion of this semester. Hopefully I did well!

There are lots of exciting things happening in our lives right now that I really wish I could announce on here, but alas. It shall wait. :) Here's a hint: I'm not pregnant ;) That's for my mom in case the word "announce" happens to cause anyone to jump to conclusions. God has been moving in our lives in ways I never thought would ever happen- I can't say much more, but I will say that His ways are best all the time. I am so thankful to know that the plan is all His! If you read this, please pray for us as we seek to glorify God in the next few steps regarding this decision. I will keep the blog 'posted' ;-)

The Power of the /S/! (A Speech Post)

2011-10-19T20:29:00.000-07:00

So today I had a breakthrough moment with one of my articulation kiddos. It. was. awesome!!

I know most of you veteran SLP's out there probably think that articulation is the easiest area of speech, but for me, the easiest area is language, and I attribute that to my being an English major and teacher/tutor. To me, vocabulary, parts of speech, basic concepts, etc. are all fun and easy to plan creatively for my kids. I do not, of course, have a caseload of language kids, but do have quite a few artic kids. This is great, considering I need a wide variety of experience for when I'm no longer an assistant, but actually doing this stuff on my own, making my own decisions.

One of my kids struggles with making his /S/ sound. Of course he does "th" instead, but for about 8 weeks, I have never been able to help him understand tongue placement, or hear the difference between /s/ and /th/. I was getting discouraged because I heard many people say /S/ is their favorite sound to work with because it is so easy. I've tried using tongue depressors, the "big mouth" as a model, minimal pairs, etc. Well, my supervisor told me that she sometimes had luck when she explained that some people have a false tooth and their S kind of sounds like a loud whistle. Well, I modeled this and it was a huge success! He even heard himself say the /s/ clearly and wanted to look in the mirror so he could make sure his tongue wasn't touching in between his front teeth. He kept wanting to say /s/ words and got them all right multiple times!

Now, this may not be too exciting to many, but it was one of those moments when you know the kid "got it" and it was literally life changing for them. The big smile I got to see when he heard himself say the /S/ sound was the best part of my day. Absolutely priceless :-) I can't wait to see it again!

Neurology & Candied Pecans

2011-10-16T19:57:00.000-07:00

So this weekend has been full of studying for my Neuro midterm, in addition to many other important things- like candied pecans! I don't know why, but I was definitely craving them as a mid-study snack tonight. So I got up and put some pecans, cinnamon, and sugar in a pan and wa-la. Yummy :)

Aside from that, I can tell you all about neural development, cerebral spinal fluid, etc., but I'm sure that's not exactly interesting- although it kind of is! ;) I guess I should get back to studying. Maybe I should call this my "October update"! Hopefully I'll get to blog more later in the week.

Pinky, Pinky and the Brain Brain Brain Brain...

2011-09-09T19:00:00.000-07:00

This amazingly funny video brings so much laughter to me because it is just such a cute way to study! Who can watch TOO much Pinky & the Brain?! And if you don't know who Pinky and the Brain are, we might not be able to talk until you watch a few Youtube videos of them. ;)

So, this week has gone by really quick! I think the beauty of being super busy is that long days don't feel as long as they are!In addition to full-time work at the school doing speech therapy (which I love!!), graduate classes started this week. This week was Neurology, and next week is Diagnostics. I should probably go and study for Neurology a bit before I go to bed because, yes, the human brain is very intricate! When I learn about it, I can't help but think of the miracle of life. Even our professor included "And because you are fearfully and wonderfully made..." into her lecture. I love that my professors are so passionate about what they do, and for helping others. It is truly a joy to "see" them via videoconferencing every week.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Last weekend for labor day weekend, I went to Houston to visit my beautiful friend, Lauren, and her sweet new baby, Lily. It is SO crazy to me that we are all growing up and having BABIES (okay, so maybe I'm not all grown up yet because it may be a couple years!), and it was a true joy to get to meet one of my best friend's daughter. Here are some pics:

Isn't she cute? And she was a joy to be around. Such a sweet baby. Lauren is already a great mother.

Well, I guess I should go study the parts of the brain!! Hippocampus, hypothalamus, etc. Gotta love it! :)

Lovin' the new job

2011-08-23T20:38:00.000-07:00

So summer is "over" and school is back in session! I'm sooo excited to be a part of my new school doing speech therapy. We have been doing lots of organizing, paper work, etc. It all sounds mundane, but my kids will start coming next week and I am so excited to meet all of them!

We haven't been doing much lately besides work. Russell is teaching 5th grade and even has a couple of my 4th graders from last year! Crazy, right? I'm so thankful that we both have the opportunity to educate these kids this year.

Can't write too much tonight because it's *gasp*, my bed time! I'm trying to get a lot of sleep and energy before grad school starts back up. Here's a peek at my decorated door for the speech room:

My hallway has a mural of the Chicka Chicka Boom Boom tree, so I decided to make a jungle theme this year. Can't wait to meet my little toucans ;)

Day 3 - 7 Day Slim Down

2011-08-13T21:23:00.000-07:00

I woke up super late this morning (around 10), but still fit a good day in! I'm in no way following the 7 day slim down completely, but each food choice that I make has been a healthy one! I feel like this round of the slim down is more of a kick-start to eating healthy than anything else, but I feel great about it.

This morning I did a 30 min jog/walk in my neighborhood and came back and had a protein pancake. I had a lot of batter left over, so tomorrow I'm using it for waffles. Can't wait! ;)
For meal 2, I had a handful of blackberries. They were SO good.
Meal 3: Chicken with veggies- yum!
Meal 4 - accidentally skipped it :(
Meal 5 - Was going to make a lean ground turkey salad, but my hubby wanted something "good". I ended up making it with whole wheat thin spaghetti in a small portion. I would usually eat 2-3 bowls, and ate a small one instead.

I'm finding that this is a HUGE mental thing for me. I'm learning that I usually just eat when I feel the slightest bit BORED of all things. So I'm hoping that I'm getting rid of that habit.

Great day! :-)

Day 2 - 7 Day Slim Down

2011-08-12T23:26:00.000-07:00

Today was CRAZY!! I had so much going on from 6:45 AM to now - 1:16 AM. I. am. pooped. And then I remembered I had to blog :)

So I woke up to head over to my parent's for their garage sale. I made a good $3, but also got a $1 Belgian waffle maker. Heck yes! ;)

So I tried a Kombucha drink this morning with an apple sprinkled with Stevia. It was yummy, but not enough! So after 5 hours of garage sale-ing in this Texas heat, I drove home and made a quick salad.

This salad was much better than yesterday's! I sprinkled lemon juice on it instead of balsamic vinegar, Mrs. Dash lemon pepper, tomatoes, onion, and spinach leaves. It was great and I actually caught myself thinking, "Wow, this tastes good! I like healthy food?!" So progress is happening. I loved that.

After my salad, me and the hubs went to my school so I could show him my speech room. It was neat to show him where I will be. He wanted to grab lunch for himself an hour later before we went to his classroom, so I failed to stick to the diet plan completely because I got broccoli & cheese soup and a small sandwich from Quizno's. Big boo boo, but I'm learning that as long as I watch my portions and keep an eye on the ingredients, all that matters is I'm making better choices than the old junk-food loving Krista.

For my final meal, I had honey-glazed chicken with mixed veggies. Overall, I'm pretty proud of myself! I'm excited to be sticking to it.

I didn't do an "official" workout, but I plan on doubling up tomorrow. I did do a lot of moving furniture and stuff today, so that counts for something :-)

Sorry if this is a boring post of my ramblings about healthy eating, but I'm finding that I almost need to do this (even if no one reads it) to keep myself accountable. So...

Dear self,

Please stick to eating healthy tomorrow. Don't give in to breakfast tacos your grandma makes, or non-healthy butter-filled waffles your husband plans on making. Work out, because you know you won't regret it. This time next year, you will hopefully reach your goal of losing 15-20 pounds! :) You won't unless you're consistent. So keep going. :-)

Love,

Your very motivated self

Day 1 - 7 Day Slim Down

2011-08-11T20:44:00.000-07:00

So this morning was the start of my 7 Day Slim Down from Tone It Up. It did not go nearly as well as I thought it would.... :(

7:30 A.M. - Wake up, did level 1 of Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred. The whole time I was in an angry mood because I was too asleep and wanted to go running outside instead. Unfortunately, I did not feel like it was cool enough outside!

8:00 A.M. - Had an egg white & spinach scramble

8:45 - Headed to work to see my speech room and meet my principal and other co-workers. SO fun! Ended up staying until 3 though :(

3:30- First-time trip to a Farmer's Market. Loved it. Got tempeh thinking it would be good for my salad I wanted to eat sooo bad.

4:00 - Cooked tempeh, ate it, spat it out. Disgusting! I honestly thought it tasted like dog food smells. Sooo I made a protein shake instead with protein powder and almond milk.

6:30 - Dinner- Chicken breast chunks with bell pepper.

7:30 - Beach Bum workout from Tone it Up

8:00 - Chobani Greek yogurt w/cinnamon, black tea.

I felt hungry the whole day and had a loss of energy. My workouts were too simple and I know I'm not pushing myself enough. I reeeeeally want to lose some weight and get toned, but how can it happen if I can't be happy with what I eat? I'm hoping today was just an off day for me. Really hoping.

Here's to a better day tomorrow!

These summer days...

2011-08-09T20:11:00.000-07:00

So today my hubs had his first day back at work. Kind of stinks. After 70+ days of summer vacation, you kind of get used to waking up whenever you want, lounging around, procrastinating from things you want to do, having no papers to grade, and.... well, you get the picture. Even though I spent most of my summer studying and doing projects for my first semester of grad school, I didn't really have a care in the world! But alas, work is starting again, and we are prepping for another great school year. I'm so thankful that my hubs has a good, solid job as a teacher (as those are hard to come by these days), and I was blessed with a job as a speech pathology assistant. We have so many things to thank the Lord for.

This past weekend, we decided to take a trip to the beach. It was our very first beach trip as a couple, and our very first "family vacation" with our pugs!! Oh boy, they were so cute. Here are some pics:

The pugs were so happy to be on a vacation with us. You could tell they really loved it. Here they are prepping for the beach!

Me and my baby :)

Fishing!

He wanted to go fishing so bad... it was so fun getting to do that with him :)

Our beautiful morning view from the pier.

It was fun to go, but at the same time, oddly nice to be home? We are getting back into the groove of things, and I'm trying to get everything situated before next week when I start work.

And now I'm blogging with two snorting pugs wrestling next to me as my hubby plays the piano in the other room. I wouldn't have it any other way :)

Morning Run and other things...

2011-07-29T13:51:00.000-07:00

Running was so much better (and fun) this morning because I went to the park/lake by my house. There is something about a nice view to look at as you run that seems to make it a lot more therapeutic. I think the next few days I will be scoping out the perfect place to run because it was THAT much better. I usually just run in my neighborhood, but I don't like that I get to smell car fumes, ward off people's leash-less dogs, and receive awkward stares from people in their garage. A little weird.

These next few days are crazy because my finals are on Tuesday for 2 very tough classes. I will be so relieved when they are over, but I feel like I have a million things going on at once. I always used to say that I didn't have time to work out because I was so busy for school, but I'm finding that I NEED that time to take a breather from school, cleaning, errands, etc. It's just nice, and helps me to calm down for the rest of the day. Thank goodness I have finally found this peace with running, and that it is feeling like less and less of a chore!

Right now I am studying for my Language class, but find myself longing to be running again. Love that. :-)

Kitchen Progress

2011-07-24T22:19:00.000-07:00

So our kitchen's new look has been a huge work in progress for the past year or so. We pretty much gave up on it after our first idea did not go as planned. Well, we reeeeally want to get it complete before this school year begins and so we can have the heart of our home back!

Here are some current updates for the kitchen:
--Bought and installed backsplash, just need to grout
--Began painting ugly maple 70's cabinet white, added crown molding to "modernize"
--Russell is now building our new(er) cabinet doors - the same cabinet doors with inset beadboard
--Bought knobs and pulls.... just need to finish painting cabinets

Need to do:
--Finish painting cabinets, install knobs and pulls
--Take down popcorn, texture ceiling
--Paint walls (our "sunrise" yellow color?)
--Grout backsplash
--Spray paint old hinges to match fixtures and knobs (nickel)

Whew! There's still a lot to do! Hopefully we will have this finished by next weekend. Pictures to come!! :-)

Bathroom Remodel... Complete!

2011-07-15T01:37:00.000-07:00

I am definitely the luckiest woman alive. Not only is my husband handsome and wonderful to me, but he is talented at remodeling, too! Not that I didn't know this before, but this bathroom remodel definitely restated the fact.

So I'm going to back up and explain the story of our house a little bit. I bought our house two years ago, right before our wedding so that we could have our own house once we got married. I was pretty determined to find a cheap house that we could make look like a million bucks after we worked on it. So, we definitely bought a fixer-upper. Now, it's SO easy to say something when you're a first-time home buyer, but actually doing all the work required... well it takes time, money, and patience. There have been times when we say, "Why didn't we just buy a new home?!," but then we do projects like this and I know we made the right choice. If we had bought a new home, it would be really hard to make it our own like we can with this house. Plus, so much love and pride goes into making your house your own, but especially when it was completely old 70's gunk before! Haha :-)

Well, to give you an idea of our bathroom dilemma, I will replay a conversation between me and Russell that used to take place quite often.
Russell: "I wish we had a bathroom suite."
Krista: "We can always convert the garage and hire a plumber to make us one with a jet-tub, stand-up shower, and double sinks."
Russell: ::Blink:: "That's expensive."
Krista: "Yeah, you're right. What CAN we do to make it feel nicer?"

And then I proceed to look on Pinterest for ideas. Well, I definitely LOVED this picture I found a couple weeks ago:

I knew Russell could definitely do it because, well, like I said earlier, he's amazing. ;)

So as soon as I saw it, I told Russell, "Doesn't this just look GREAT?" (Or something like that...)

And then we started scheming....

Well, let me just cut to the chase and show you the before and after:

Okay, so sorry about me being in the first pic. Not flattering, but oh well! Look at how not flattering the bathroom is! Icky 70's... EVERYTHING! The old wood cabinets, the weird wanna-be marble counter top, the giant egg-like sink. Plus a huge mirror that takes up way too much space, and a tacky light fixture. Can you feel my frustration?

Then I'm taken to heavenly bliss when I see the After Picture :-)

I love the way everything ended up flowing together so well. Most importantly, we did it on a budget. Go Russell & Krista.

Here are some close-ups:

We got our vessel sink off of E-bay after searching for the perfect one. All I wanted: An oil-rubbed bronze faucet. Thank you E-bay for such a great deal! :)

Here's a close-up view from one angle. The counter-top is a nice looking piece of wood Russell got from Lowe's. He stained and poly'd it to make it water resistant. Nice!

I got the light-fixture from Home Depot. Again, all I cared about: oil-rubbed bronze. I like it!

The mirror is one that we already had, but also purchased from Lowe's a while back. As I was walking out to go pick out a mirror, I told Russell, "Do you think this mirror will work? Nah, it may be too big."

We definitely saved money when we discovered it fit perfectly, and keeps with the oil-rubbed bronze look! Could life get better? I submit that it cannot. (Who knows that comedian?)

I got the hardware from Lowe's and it wasn't bad at all. It totally transforms the look of everything and I am definitely pleased.

Well, this is one long post all about my bathroom. I have definitely done my share of bragging, but I just can't help it!! I'm even BLOGGING in front of the bathroom. Sheesh :-) What do you think of it?

Time flies....

2011-07-13T17:00:00.000-07:00

...when you're on summer vacation! So much is going on- it's crazy!! Okay, so our life may not be *crazy*, but it does feel like it sometimes. I'm finishing up my last 3 weeks of 1/7 semesters, and I am soooo ready to be finished! So far my grades have been good and I have no complaints. In the next three weeks, I have to complete quite a few things though, and I know it will get done. Just gotta do it! Maybe I'm writing this to motivate myself?

While I'm doing school work, Russell has been busy remodeling our bathroom. I'm so excited that he has come so far with it. We now have a new vanity area, a unique version of wains cotting (sp?), new light fixtures and hardware, crown molding, and a vessel sink! Wow- that is a lot. I didn't realize how much it was until I type it out.

I'm excited to post a picture of the end result. Hopefully by tomorrow that will happen....

Just wanted to give a quick update while I had "time". I just finished taking a quiz and now I have to complete a brochure and finish reading some articles. Not too shabby! :)

Crown Molding!

2011-06-19T10:45:00.000-07:00

So Russell and his dad decided that they wanted to buy crown molding and test it out in the bathroom. I'm soooo ready to have it in the rest of the house!!

I know it's not the best picture, but it is soooo much better. I should have definitely taken a before picture, but imagine tacky 70's wall paper, cracks between the ceiling and the wall, and popcorn ceilings. Yuck! This is my favorite bathroom now :) Hopefully more crown will be put up this summer. There's still so much to do.

Our vanity is the next step for this bathroom.Take a look at this darling:

I know it's not tidy right now, but that's because I hate that bathroom. I find that when I hate the way a room looks, I have no intention of trying to cover it up by making it look very tidy like I would a nicer room. To me, that's like putting a dress on a pig. :-) But, alas. I know I DO need to organize it a little.

Below is a picture we are using for inspiration.

(Picture from theletteredcottage.net)

Russell says he can build the shelves to match it perfectly, and that the rest wouldn't be hard to emulate at all. It would bring the "rustic" part of our house into the bathroom, which is nice.

We may do something different with the bottom portion. Russell has said that instead of a curtain, we can make it more like a cabinet, which I would prefer. Can't wait!

So much to be thankful for

2011-06-17T22:09:00.000-07:00

So many good things are happening and I am blessed. The Lord has provided so many good things these past couple months and Russell and I are so thankful. I was recently informed that I will definitely be doing speech therapy come August for a job with an income and this is a huge answer to prayer. For a while, everything was up in the air and we didn't know how we were going to get me through grad school without a job. The Lord is faithful! Russell also got his contract renewed with his school, which is a big answer to prayer because of the budget crisis in Texas right now. I am so thankful for all that we have and couldn't be more happy. We in no way deserve all of this.

A couple weeks ago, I attended "Kick-Off" week in Denton for my graduate program. My friend Mariana and I were roommates and we got to relive the college experience! For me, I felt like I was immersed in an amazing program with wonderful professors. I learned so much in one week. We had class M-TH from 8-5:30-ish and on Friday we had all of our exams. It was definitely an experience to remember, but I made it out, and passed all of my exams! I am now back at home taking classes through our ESC and studying, studying, studying. I'm also doing my summer practicum at an ESY program for a couple weeks and working with some amazing kiddos! I was a little nervous before going into this because I have never worked with children who had sever disorders or disabilities. These children have already touched my life so much and I get to help them communicate better. I know that speech pathology is the career for me and am so excited to be a part of this outstanding profession. I can't wait to learn more and work with more people.

Other than that, we are definitely soaking up summer vacation. Even though I have school, it is nice to have my husband home all day and do whatever we want. We're knocking out a lot of our summer projects for the house and hope to get it cleaned up. Today Russell textured a lot of walls and ceilings. We are trying to get rid of all the popcorn ceilings and we're making a lot of progress. One step at a time :) I am so thankful my husband is so handy.

Now I am blogging and sipping on a strawberry shake. It doesn't get much better.

Master Bedroom Progress

2011-05-03T17:43:00.000-07:00

So unfortunately, we've lived here for almost two years, and I'm just now getting around to making the master bedroom pretty. At least I hope I'm making it pretty. I've been attracted to a "french" theme for that room for a while and have tried working a few of Russell's family antiques into that room. I've had to do some mixing and matching (more mixing) to the best of my abilities, and have found little help on the web. My last post about my refinished dresser was kind of an introduction to the master bedroom. It's hard for me to really imagine what else I can do with this room without making it feel to feminine. The furniture I'm refinishing is, after all, a "little girl's" set. So, here's a picture of what the bed area currently looks like:

There's still a lot of work to do. I keep questioning everything I've done. "Is the dark brown wall okay?....Ugh, are mismatched nightstands totally ugly? Wait, one's not even a nightstand. Gosh Krista. Call your mom and tell her to come help!!"

I don't want to give in and fall trap to a "matchy matchy" bedroom set, but at the same time, I don't want the room to look completely ugly. I've also yet to get art or wall decor for this room. Right now, there's an old mirror from college with my wedding veil on it above the bed. I know it's too small, but I like it better than a bare wall.

I think I've watched too much HGTV because now that I know how much there is to do, I can't decide. Master bedroom updates will definitely be coming in the future...

My beautiful refinished masterpiece! (Could I be less braggy?)

2011-04-20T16:14:00.000-07:00

So I tackled my first refinishing project this past weekend and this was the beauty. It seemed that I was the only one who saw its hidden beauty, because Russell was a little hesitant when we went to go pick it up from a Craigslist seller.... But here she is:

I knew it had potential and so I digged online for similar refinishing projects and got a few ideas. I got different tips from everyone, and went out to Lowe's to get my materials. I bought:

Sand paper
Primer
White Paint
Rustoleum Metallic Black Spray Paint
Various paint brushes - I recommend mini foam rollers or foam brushes

I had last Friday off and got straight to work! First step: Take the knobs off and spray paint them :) The fun part, which is why it was my first step :-)

Afterwards, I sanded the drawers and the dresser itself. This was the most time consuming, but so worth it! After that, the rest was easy. I primed the drawers and dresser, painted, and then let everything dry.

I'm pleased with the results after putting it all back together:

What a beauty :-) I did the nightstand and bookshelf on Sunday (pics to come), and all I have left is the desk! Did I mention I got all 3 pieces for $100? Yes. Amazing. Love!

A-ma-zing!

2011-04-10T21:12:00.000-07:00

So today I decided to look on Craigslist again for a "french provincial dresser", which is the style I want for our bedroom. Lo and behold, I found one!! It was a "little girl's set" but it can totally work once we refinish it. The ultimate goal is something like this:

We got a dresser, a nightstand, and a desk for $100 and it is high-quality furniture in that it was built sturdy. Now, the general color (cream) is not that great, but that will be easily fixed when I paint it white!

To complete the look, I want to get this bed from Ikea:

It is very "shabby chic" and I love it. I think it'd go great with a nice, white duvet cover and a red or blue blanket. Way excited. I need to get some mirrors also to start a "mirror wall".

I will have to keep you posted on the progress of the master bedroom. I love cheap finds that will look amazing!

Behold, the diffuser

2011-04-04T20:50:00.000-07:00

So at my last visit to the hair salon, I think the stylist was so fed up with spending SOOO much time drying and straightening my hair, that she casually told me about a diffuser and some fun curly stuff. Well, that was about 5 weeks ago, and today I finally gave in and bought one. Who wants to spend an hour on their hair?

I'm pleased to say that I like the natural, curly look! Why have I wasted so much time straightening?? Here's a horrible pic, but a pic nonetheless:

I really like the curls! I may have made a mistake by doing them right before bed, but it was so simple, I can wake up and do them again if I need to. Plus, I'm not sure if I did the diffuser right by doing this, but I loved massaging my scalp as I "diffused" my hair. So nice.

Okay, now, that's the end of my most random post ever.

Oh loverly weekends....!!

2011-03-27T20:33:00.000-07:00

So this weekend was amazing. I have done..... nothing. Okay, so maybe I did some laundry. But beyond that- absolutely nothing!! I loved it. It wasn't the wisest thing to do, but I needed it. I have been sick with some wacky allergy for about 3 weeks and can finally see myself getting over it.

We had to get a new television this week because ours just stopped turning on! Even my dad, who knows tv's inside out, said it was dead. So we went a few days without one (which was fine, just not fun when we got a new Netflix dvd), but finally got one this weekend thanks to the sale at Target. Now Russell and I are back to our Sunday night routine of watching HGTV and DIY network together.

So not wanting to go back to work tomorrow, but alas. There are only 8 more Mondays of work, so I can handle it ;) This is actually my last year as a teacher, which is inSANE, and is really starting to freak me out. The graduate program I'm in requires me to work as a SLPA (speech pathology assistant) while in the program and be sponsored by a school district. Well, I got sponsored, but am still looking for the work. We are definitely praying about this, but I'm trusting that God has everything worked out. So many of the students in the program are concerned about this, because I don't think one of us has been "hired". If you can keep me in your prayers as I seek a job with pay, I would appreciate it.

Not much else is going on! We're getting a deck soon! So exciting. We hope to have our official "house warming" party after that.... two years in the making!!

Spring Break is ending... :-(

2011-03-20T21:43:00.000-07:00

So, as soon as I finish this blog post, I will consider spring break to be over. Can you see how much I am trying to make sure it never ends? I guess the best thing I can do is just look forward to the fact that summer is almost here. Cant wait!!

So this spring break we had a very ambitious goal for the house. Finish the guest room, paint some more walls, install a new toilet.... and paint the house. I definitely wanted to have "paint the house" at the top of our list as it looked like this:

The garage was just screaming, "Look at meeeee!!" and the rest of the house didn't care. What a boring house! So, we thought about the color scheme for about a year (I know, I know...) and I decided that I couldn't live without a red door or a sage green exterior. It sounded very "Christmas-y," but I just knew it would work.

Well, here's the finished product:

I know these aren't the best pictures, but oh. em. gee. I like the way it turned out. Sometimes I can't stop looking at it when I'm outside. Sheesh.

So now, every time I come home from work, I will see this new color scheme and smile. And even though my husband never reads this blog, thanks babe :-)

Spring Break

2011-03-18T12:57:00.001-07:00

Spring Break has been amazing. My suspicion of knowing what I wanted to do with my life was confirmed as I spent 22 hours observing speech therapy sessions at a local clinic. It was probably one of the best experiences of my life! I'm so excited to get started with school and my new career. The patience and love that these therapists have for these children was so amazing. I'll begin my classes and clinicals this summer, which is beyond crazy to me! I feel like I'm ready to get started with therapy though.

For my last few days of Spring Break, I am cleaning house as Russell paints the outside. It is looking wonderful. Next month we will finally be getting our privacy fence and french doors. Pics to come :)

Busy, busy, busy

2011-03-05T06:39:00.000-08:00

Well, a lot has been going on lately. I have found myself coming home, falling to sleep, and not waking up until it's time to go to work! Yesterday morning I woke up thinking it was a Saturday (horrible feeling), and last night I woke up at 7:49 P.M., thinking it was 7:49 A.M. on a Friday. How did that happen? I frantically hopped out of bed, worried because Russell was still in his work clothes, thinking "How could you let me sleep in?!?" He calmly told me it was Friday night. Sheesh. I really must be tired, right? Well, today I'm hoping to knock a few things out that I didn't do yesterday: run, actually make dinner, and get a lot of homework out of the way. I won't be doing it in that order.... I know you've enjoyed reading my very interesting post.... haha :)

Little Things I Tell Myself

2011-02-26T21:32:00.000-08:00

So, before I knew of my acceptance to the program, I was constantly using the excuse, "I could never have time" when it came to working out and eating right. Well, for the past week, I realized that the next two years are going to be full of potential for that one excuse, and I've decided to start tackling my workout problem now :-)

This week I started running again. For the week so far, I've ran 5.5 miles. I'm going to try to increase my runs by .5 mile each week until I get to at least 5 miles a day. I think once I'm there, I will feel like I can call myself an official runner. Right now I just feel silly logging my 1-2 mile runs. But hey, at least I'm not sitting at home making excuses. That was the old me. :-)

I've also been keeping track of my calorie intake with each meal and have decided to eat healthier. This is huge for me, because lately, I have been indulging in whatever I felt like eating. Not okay. So now I'm on the right road. For breakfast this week, I've had my Organic Blueberry Waffles, or a yogurt. For lunch, it's been lean microwavable food, like Lean Cuisines. For dinner, I've gone all about the veggies. Squash, bell peppers, YUM! Chicken has been my primary meat of choice, too.

I'll be signing up for Tone It Up soon to help me create a plan to stick to. If I can eat junk food, I can eat healthy food. So, here's to a healthier life!! :-)

Oh and I also re-designed the look of the blog :-)

It's official!

2011-02-13T10:15:00.000-08:00

I'm going to be a Speech Pathologist! I've officially been accepted into graduate school at Texas Woman's Univeristy for the TETN Cycle 6 program. I cannot explain how excited/relieved/anxious I am about this. God is gracious and good. Here's to a great 2 years of graduate school! :-)

We live, We love

2011-01-29T22:08:00.000-08:00

Sometimes, when you are consumed by all the "things" you need to check off of your to-do list, you get caught up in your own bubble. At least I do. This week, I was reminded of just how important it is to get out of that and make sure you are taking advantage of the opportunities the Lord places in front of you.

"Today we remember to live and to love"

This past week I have heard the stories of a few of my students. I have heard words from their lips describing a life I would not wish upon anyone, but especially a child. My heart has broken for them. I have cried for them at night. At the end of this week, I have felt so burdened for them in a way I have never felt burdened for someone before. Friday evening, I got home and parked in my driveway. I couldn't stop crying because of what I know the kids are feeling. I walked in the house and just cried with Russell. I thought I had experienced feeling someone else's pain during their trial, but this pain is much stronger. As I spoke to my students this week about everything they are going through, I struggled with holding back the name of Jesus. I could feel His words speaking through me as I tried to encourage my students, but I desperately wanted to tell them about the love of their Savior. In almost all of my other jobs with children, I have been in a church setting, so this feeling was new to me. There have been times when I'm teaching when my students will ask me about my beliefs and I can tell them, but outside of that I am not "legally allowed" to discuss it. I offered my students a listening ear and what I am hoping was loving, encouraging words for them. I can only hope that they will feel God's love through me.

My heart is heavy. Please pray for the children in our schools, but specifically, my students. The painful stories that they have to tell are hard to listen to from their mouths. They are just children. Please pray that I will have the right words to say when they can't handle the world around them.

"Tragedy is a reminder to take off the blinders, And wake up and live the life we're supposed to take up. Moving forward with all our heads up, Cause life is worth living."

Habits/2011 Resolution

2010-12-28T20:26:00.000-08:00

So my wonderful friend, Stephanie, posted a FB status today that I found to be very encouraging. It was her proposed New Year's Resolution for 2011. Basically, she pointed out that it takes 21 days to establish a new habit. Her thought was to pick 1-2 habits a month, and devote that month to establishing that one habit. I think this sounds like a great idea and have decided to blog my desired habits:

1. LAUNDRY (Steph, you mentioned this one, and I need help with it!) Do a load of laundry a day, or do laundry as soon as it needs to be done instead of waiting until I "feel like it".

2. Gym/working out- Work out every other day, even if it means staying in doing a Jillian Michael's DVD, or going to the gym. At least 30 minutes every other day.

3. Planning dinners - just need to think of a better, more organized way to do this

4. Find more things to do in SA- some fun outing at least once a month with my babe?

5. Spend less time online (is this a habit?? maybe this is more the breaking of a bad habit)

6. Read more books for FUN (stop making excuses like "too much to do")

7. Pamper myself every now and then - pedicure, manicure, etc. Once a month? Maybe that's excessive.

This is all I can really think of for right now. I know there will be more once I get through these.

Two pugs, lazy day

2010-12-26T15:51:00.000-08:00

Today we have done.... well, nothing! Ok, I take that back. I did get back into my gym routine and went to the gym this morning, shortly after being woken up by our fire alarm. Yep, our fire alarm went off this morning because Russell accidentally left the tea kettle on to boil water for coffee. He blames this on me, accusing me of being too cute to not come back to bed and snuggle with. I'll take that :-)

Now I am on the couch with my two pugs. This vacation has taught me that the pugs do nothing but sleep. All. day. They are ridiculous. It's really hard not to just chillax when you have two pugs encouraging it all day! Needless to say, I have a lot of laundry to do.

Not much else going on. I started reading A Voice in the Wind, by Francine Rivers. It is really good so far. Francine has a great way of bringing some very overlooked biblical stories to life for me. If you are itching to read some good fiction, there's one for you!!

I think we are about to make fondue. That word is so funny to me. Fonduuuuuuuuuue!

Christmas 2010

2010-12-24T15:14:00.000-08:00

Today has been a wonderful day of cooking and spending time with my wonderful husband! We are preparing dinner for my parents to come over this evening for Christmas Eve. So exciting! I can't beleive it is already our first Christmas together as husband and wife. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!

p.s. Happy Birthday, Lauren!

Anticipation for what's next...

2010-12-18T10:37:00.000-08:00

So these past 7 months or so, I've been studying my little heart out because I'm hoping to get in a graduate program for Speech Pathology. This past Fall semester, I took 9 hours while teaching full-time. Surprisingly, I made it through!! I made 2 A's and a B. I needed a B to move on to next semester, and thought I definitely had a C.

Without rambling too much, I'm moving on and I may very well be a speech assistant next May!!!

Dotsons = Doolittles

2010-11-20T21:41:00.000-08:00

So lately we have felt like the Doolittle family. Actually, it's just been a weird week of animals. We've been visted almost every night be two adorable kittens, and even let them in one night. I quickly learned that I am not one for having cats indoors, because of the shelf climbing and rug scratching behavior they seem to have, but I do know I like watching and petting them outside.

My fish, Stella, recently disappeared. We are almost 100% sure she was eaten by a lizard. Long story. We went to buy another fish that very night.

Today, a parakeet was hanging out on our back porch. Because of the cold.... (or our very soft hearts) we got some birdseed and a bird cage just in case it wants to crawl in tonight.

Crazy, right?? Don't forget our two crazy pugs. They are currently snuggling in their bed. My goodness :-)

Honeymoon

2010-10-26T17:26:00.001-07:00

Click here to view this photo book larger

A Season of Revelations

2010-10-19T20:56:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting in mine and Russell's office and we are both writing. Such English majors, right?? :-) The only difference is, my husband is working on his novel, while I work on the blog. We're both cool in our own way ;-) I've got him listening to Imogen Heap and Regina Spektor, which makes for a lovely night. Oh, and two pugs are currently lying down on my back.

Since my last post, things have calmed down a little bit. I finally tackled the big pile of laundry/constant growing garden in our laundry room. Our closet looks more like a place to get clothes than to leave them. It's nice. I'm working on this whole wife thing :-)

I know that if I post what I want to say it will seem like I'm going through a roller coaster of emotions right now. Maybe I am. Since writing everything out in my last post, I've stepped back and realized just how good I have it. Russell and I have discussed that we are pretty lucky to be where we are, and I don't want to ever sound like I'm not thankful for our life. I'm VERY thankful and blessed that God has brought us where we are. We live in our dream house. Not because it's the BEST house ever (it still needs a lot of work), but because it's our house and we are making such happy memories.

I am thankful :-)

In a rut...

2010-10-15T19:41:00.001-07:00

Is it possible to distance yourself from your own true feelings?? I have somewhat "trained" myself to be less stressed out and have made it a natural response for myself to be as laid back as possible when I would normally be..... stressing. I don't want to say that I always do that, but I usually do. I think it has become more of a defense mechanism than anything else because I may not want to "deal" with the many things that are thrown my way.

Lately I have been avoiding how overwhelmed I feel with all of the things I am doing. I am: taking 9 hours of graduate prerequisite courses, working full-time as a teacher for three different English classes, trying to maintain an orderly house (this week I have failed), and trying really hard to do all of the things I have committed to. We did not make it to church this past week because I have been so. tired. I am drained. Exhausted. I get mad at myself for not having the time to go running and I feel like everyday I gain another pound. My mind feels like it is going 100 mph because if I'm not worrying about school, I'm worrying about work, or the laundry that needs to be done, or the bills I need to pay. I'm not even sure if I will get into the graduate program and am struggling with one of my classes.

I don't know what I'm going to do next. I feel somewhat trapped by all of these obligations and desperately want a break.

I need God's rejuvenation. I need His hand to hold me and His words of comfort to say it will be alright. Please pray for me. I need rest, comfort, and some down time.

Blessings in many forms

2010-10-13T20:24:00.000-07:00

I went on a "home visit" yesterday to see one of my best students and her grandmother. One of the favorite things about my school is we get to build community by talking and getting to know the family of our students. I also love getting to see what my students see everyday. We had a great time and I am truly blessed that God has placed such wonderful people in my life. However, when I was preparing my things this morning in my classroom, this student came in and handed me an envelope from her grandmother. A gift for the classroom: books from our school book fair. Something I have been trying really hard to do this year is gather more books and my students have made this goal so much easier to accomplish. I have about 40 more books in our collection this year. I love generosity. It's even greater to see it go to such a good cause- my students are reading!! I truly believe that my students are becoming lifelong readers, and I love that!!!

Tonight I am washing dishes, studying, making quiche, looking at unfolded laundry, feeling some pain in my legs (just tired), and enjoying the company of my husband and pugs. I look around and feel God's blessings. I am grateful.

Nostalgia

2010-09-27T20:42:00.000-07:00

Tonight I looked through my college photos on facebook and began thinking back to the lifestyle and friendships that I had at that time. This is in no way to sound like a depressing post, but I thought I would share. I absolutely love my life with Russell and we are so blessed with everything God has given us. I'm thinking about Beall hall, and living with some of the most amazing girls I know. We were all still so young and driven by what we did not know- our studies, what our jobs would be, who we would marry. I look back and smile. I think of the church family that I had at Canyon Creek. My adopted family, Shanon and Jason, for investing so much in me throughout my college years. The opportunity to be a children's intern one summer. I think of my roommate Lauren, and living in the little white house on the corner with all of its animal sounds, unfinished wood floors, and beautiful sage paint on the walls. We had so much fun living there! I think of the random runs I'd take in the mornings before class. Why do I feel so much older now?? It's only been 2 years. I feel like my energy is gone, and I want it back!

I think what has sparked my nostalgia is the fact that Russell and I are settling into a new church that we both feel God is calling us to. It is about 30 minutes from our house, and we currently meet in an elementary school. This church is very similar to the one Russell and I began going to when we started dating. It's called North Rock. We began attending North Rock right after we got married (about 2 weeks afterwards) for about a month, and then left for a month. After feeling God consistently drawing us back to North Rock, we decided to keep going back. So we've begun getting involved, and this week is the beginning of our first "journey group," which is basically a small group that meets every week. I'm REALLY excited about going and getting to know other people our age that we can become real friends with. One thing Russell and I feel like we've never had is another couple we could relate to, be true friends with, go out to dinner with, pray with, etc. I desperately want that. I want someone we can turn to to discuss our lives, our interests, jokes, God, school, work, etc. (not in that order). I think when I look back at UMHB, I feel like there's so much to live up to! I don't mean to put it in those terms, but I had some pretty amazing friends there. I think right now, I miss them all so much, that I'm scared we'll never have friends like that. I know this is silly, and I'm probably being emotional, but the biggest thing I don't want is superficial relationships with the people we meet; I don't want mere acquaintances. I want us to get to know people, about their lives, what they're going through, someone I can call and pray for.

I know this is not a typical post of mine and I'm usually never this candid.Please pray for us as we attend this Journey Group and get to know more people. We really want to make some friends. :-) Please pray for us as we continue to draw nearer to God. I want to experience Him in a really big way!!!

Two Teachers!

2010-09-19T12:25:00.000-07:00

Wow, it has been a really long time since my last post! Time for an update :-)

The school year has finally started and we are already entering our 5th week this week. 31 more to go!! ;) I'm loving that I get to come home and share with Russell all of our "teacher stories". The funny things kids say make for some great dinner conversations. I even overheard one of my kids say, "I HATE that she's Mrs. Dotson now! Ugh," because he didn't want me to get married. So funny.

Trying to balance both teaching and being a student has been hard. I'm taking 9 hours while working and needless to say, I am tired. I know it's all for the best and all I can do is hope that I get into the grad program and give it my all. I know that either way it works out, God has a plan for my life and will lead us where He wants us.

Russell is taking a Sunday nap with the pugs, and I think I may join them. Lesson plans can wait. Naps are very dear to my heart!! :)

2010-08-25T20:02:00.000-07:00

This week has been long. I never thought I could be as tired as I am, but with 26 students, it's easy to get exhausted by 4 o'clock. Even though it has been draining, this week has been really good. My kids are so enthusiastic about my class, something I love seeing. It is so refreshing to see their zest for life. I have also already been blessed by their generous hearts. I have a "Book Wish List" on the class website, and one of my students had her grandma order 3 of the best books on the list. How awesome is this?! I've never felt so adored before, and I've only known this sweet girl for 3 days.

Russell starts teaching this upcoming Tuesday, and I am so excited for him. He is nervous, but I know he will do a great job and that the boys will especially look up to him as a role-model. He has a whole lot to offer!

Not much else is going on. I'm beginning my second semester of speech pathology classes on Monday, so please keep us in your prayers as we go through a lot of changes next week. I'm excited about the classes, but a little concerned about all that is on my plate right now. Right now I'm struggling to stay awake. Until next time...

Teaching supplies!

2010-08-04T20:48:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I just posted an ad on craigslist requesting donations/budget-friendly items for mine and Russell's classroom. We will both be teaching English this year, and for some reason (maybe the summer vacation) we have not been thinking about supplies! We've requested posters, paper, crayons, etc. to help decorate both of our classrooms. I have a few items from last year, but now we need double the items since we are both teaching. I think next week I will be doing a lot of arts-and-craft style posters if we don't get any responses. Maybe one of my few readers will have something in the back of their closets/attics/garage that would be useful for a classroom? *wink, wink* I'll have to post if any fellow San Antonian Craigslist users offer their donations.

Cleaning woes

2010-08-03T21:25:00.001-07:00

So my husband is currently sleeping. He caved and the pugs are now in my spot in the bed. Good grief, they are spoiled! :-)

Today I was thinking about my 2 final exams, how much I have to do, the fact that school begins very soon, and how I feel behind! I feel behind mainly in the fact that I want my house to be a little more organized. This probably sounds like something ridiculous to blog about, and mom, if you're reading this, I am merely confessing this to gain some form of help ;-)

I need a system! I tried setting up a "daily chore" list to keep the house consistently clean, but that didn't work. It still seemed like the bulk of my free time went to cleaning. I want to be able to do minor cleaning gradually to keep a consistently clean home. Now, I know, am I in my own world? :-) I understand that this is perfect world I am picturing, but any tips from my dear blogging friends would be of great benefit. Now, I don't live in mess, but I would like to develop a schedule that I can balance with being a grad student and a teacher. Any suggestions? What type of system do you use in your home? :-)

It's almost time!!

2010-08-01T21:08:00.000-07:00

"The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things:
Of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax--
Of cabbages--and kings--
And why the sea is boiling hot--
And whether pigs have wings." - Lewis Carroll, The Walrus and the Carpenter

I wish it were time to talk of those things! But, alas, it is time (almost) for school to start again! Today is August 1st. The Back to School month. Part of me cringes at this, while another part of me gets excited about decorating my classroom, planning lessons, and allowing my students to feel like family. Oh, and being called Mrs. Dot :) I have this weird thing about wanting the kids to call me Mrs. Dot, but I think DotSON is easy enough to not have to shorten it. So, in honor of this soon-to-be crazy month, I am writing out a list of things I am thankful for from this amazing summer, and things I have to do really soon!

Things I am Thankful For:

Of course this is #1 on my list- GETTING MARRIED! I got to marry my favorite person in the world and get to spend the rest of my life with him. Our wedding was perfect and beautiful and I couldn't have asked for a better day. I love Russell :)
Spending precious time with my husband. We are very lucky in that we didn't have jobs to rush back to after our honeymoon, and instead got a 2 1/2 month honeymoon. I've loved getting to know him better and enjoying everyday with him.
Our home. We have done so much to our home it's incredible. I'm excited to be making it ours and adding special touches to it. I know it'll be really nice coming home to it everyday after work!
Our family. Our family has been so supportive of us this summer as we have gone through the process of getting more on our feet as a couple. Plus, they are just all around cool people. Thank you!
Friends :-) I have a lot of friends that don't live near SA, but it has been fun to keep in touch with them and have dinner with the friends we have here.

Things I Need to Do....

Finish final exams for Audiology and A&P by the 10th
Get supplies neat and orderly for school (I kind of "dumped" hem in the garage on the last day of school since it was, well, 2 days before the wedding.
Buy some cute outfits for teaching and finding Russell some dress pants and shirts for school... we're working on a budget, so this will be a task.
Keep a food & exercise diary starting tomorrow... I've committed to a race in October and need to get my rear in gear! I've started eating Greek yogurt for breakfast and need to work on making lunch and dinner healthy, yet tolerable, meals. I also need to make use of my gym membership... starting tomorrow morning!
Organize various areas of the house... not.as.fun.
Revamp my school website to fit the 2010-2011 school year: livelaughlearn dot us
Buy textbooks for next semester

This is a lot to do! But not overwhelming. Maybe just whelming. ;-) If you've read this far, thank you! If not, I understand :-) Here's to the new month!!

Fun Wall Art

2010-08-01T14:53:00.000-07:00

So I love home decor websites, but one thing I love MORE than those are home decor sites that emphasize being thrifty and saving some money! So of course I enjoy Thrifty Decor Chick. Something I read about and have been wanting to do for a LONG time was the wall art project she did with a sheet of MDF and some scrapbook paper. You can find tutorials on her blog post.

Russell's office was looking kind of plain, so this is what we did together today:

I LOVE it! I absolutely love it. Total cost of this art: $18!!!

We were going to buy MDF, but a sheet of MDF at our Lowe's is $30! So we decided to browse through the aisles and found 4 ft. sheets of particle board for about $2 each, so we bought 3. $6 for the "wood"!! So happy about that. I spent quite a long time at Hobby Lobby picking the exact sheets of scrapbook paper that I wanted, but it was worth it.

I think I may just be becoming a tad bit addicted to fun art projects like this! Be prepared to see more :-)

Something profound

2010-07-24T22:36:00.000-07:00

So I usually always come to my blog with the desire of writing something profound, and when I get here, I always tell myself that it shouldn't have to be thought of, but should just come naturally. So here I am, not knowing if what I'm going to type will be profound at all.

Summer vacation is almost over; God has granted us many blessings and I am most definitely thankful. Russell got a teaching job with a sister school to mine, so we will have the exact same schedule all year long. How cool is that? I have been making A's in my first two speech pathology classes. We have loved this whole married life thing- it really is nice to be with the person you love everyday. Our house is coming along quite nicely, even though there is usually something being remodeled, it looks 1oo times better than when I first bought it. I really have no complaints. Sometimes I almost dig for something to complain about, because I think that's part of being human. But I am truly thankful and can't believe where God has brought me sometimes. Another huge blessing is that we have a plan for our finances. We started reading Dave Ramsey's "Total Money Makeover" and feel like because we have a plan now, it is possible to get completely out of debt. I'm excited about that!

School starts for us on August 11th (orientation) and I am excited about the new year. I think it will be a great one! I think the best way to get used to a new last name is to teach right afterwards. That should be fun! :-)

Updated Mantle

2010-07-13T20:49:00.000-07:00

So, my mantle was bugging me because it was cluttered with picture frames (some didn't have pictures in them!) and random knick-knacks. So, my project was to get some budget friendly items to give it a more contemporary feel. This is the result:

Most of the items came from Ross. I've always enjoyed rummaging through the home decor aisles and finding treasures. We have a rug on our floor that is a mixture of cool blues, lime green, and brown. So I got the blue vase and green candle holder from Ross. I also got the mirror for $20 (a steal, I know!!) at Ross. Love that store. I had everything else already: the Bonsai tree is from our honeymoon and we got the middle vases from our registry. I'm really happy with the look!!

Good times

2010-07-03T00:27:00.000-07:00

So we've been married a little over a month now and I'm loving it. I still can't believe how quickly everything went and how it has ALREADY been a month, but life is good!! I am knee-deep in summer classes and Russell is busy working on the house and prepping for his first year of teaching. Oh, did I forget to mention that? ;) Russell got hired to be a teacher!! I'm so excited for him. It will be fun to share stories about our teaching days and enjoy every vacation day together!! I am pumped.

Countertops, kitchen sink....

2010-06-21T14:15:00.000-07:00

Kitchen Remodel... almost done!

2010-06-19T21:00:00.001-07:00

So when we first bought our house, the kitchen was definitely the worst room of them all. I'm talking 70's style vinyl on the wall, ugly stick-on tile, cabinets that didn't close all the way, laminate counter tops, and a sliding door that will randomly not open when it's told. We recently decided it needed a makeover! Not to mention it's a galley style kitchen, which can be a blessing and a curse. So we thought of what would be the most budget-friendly, design-friendly materials. We chose to buy granite tile. Everyone loves granite, right?! Well, duh. But not for $49.99 a square foot! If you ever want to redo your kitchen, I say look in the tile section! You get a very similar look for less than half the cost. All of the granite tile we looked at ranged from $3.00 a square foot to $10.00 a square foot. MUCH better. Plus, you can more than likely cut it yourself to fit your counter tops and not spend anything on installation if you have the right tools.

I don't want to post any pictures yet because we are soooo close to being done, but it looks amazing! In addition to the granite, we also bought a cast-iron sink and added a bar. Russell and his dad custom built our cabinet doors to reface the cabinets and stained them all a new, modern espresso brown color. LOVE. IT. So, just imagine it now. I think tomorrow will bring us a more finished product that I'm willing to take a picture of. Right now we are waiting for the tile to dry overnight so we can place the 75 pound sink in its hole, buy a faucet, trim out the countertops, and put our bead-board backsplash on. *Whew* Okay, so maybe we have another week until we're done. But my goodness I am excited!

Ode to Married Days

2010-06-16T21:12:00.000-07:00

So, we've been married for 17 days. I must say, that sounds like a long time! I know it's just over two weeks, but I'm amazed! It feels like our wedding was just yesterday :)

Right now, my love is sitting next to me reading War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. Something I will always love about Russell is his passion for reading, and life in general. I thought I liked to read, but my babe LOVES to read. It's just so much more peaceful than video games, television, etc. and he's growing his mind. The pugs are asleep at our feet, and I (of course) am blogging.

I started classes last week for Speech Language Pathology. I only missed one question on my first A&P test, and have been [trying] to study a lot. It's hard when there's so much more to do! But, I will remain diligent, because the taste of an A+ is just too good.

Russell and his dad have been working on our kitchen. We are re-staining the cabinets an espresso brown color, adding granite counter tops, and adding a bar! There's been a lot of progress so far and I'm excited about it all. I will have to post pics as the end result gets nearer.

We are still trying to find a church in SA. Please be in prayer for us with that because it's becoming a lot harder than we thought it would be.

Tomorrow my SISTER is coming to visit us! I love that I have a sister now. My beautiful niece and nephew are coming too. I think we will have lunch at a Greek restaurant and just enjoy each other! I'm excited :)

HoneymoOoOoOoOn Part Tres

2010-06-16T20:58:00.001-07:00

So a few things on our honeymoon didn't go expected. We wanted to visit a winery, go horseback riding, and go on a canopy tour. We didn't do any of those things. Every place we called said they were either "temporarily closed" or "not in for the day," and on the day of our scheduled canopy tour, it stormed. BUT, we still had an amazing time.

On the night of the storm, we (well.. Russell) grilled hot dogs.

We enjoyed a lot of time in the awesome private pool we had.

We got "Bones," our Bonsai Tree after visiting an awesome Bonsai Exhibit.

We went hiking!

And just had an all-around good time.

We were sad to leave our amazing cottage, but we had a great time and I will cherish the memories! We plan on going back to our cottage getaway soon. It was such a nice place and we are so happy to have found a nice hill-country gem.

HoneymoOoOoOoOn Part Dos

2010-06-07T20:36:00.000-07:00

After our stay at Alexandra's House, we ventured on to Wimberley! Needless to say, we had a blast.

Russell and the rusted gun that was on the mantle. We were having fun!

We are at a nice restarant called Brewster's. Yum!

The inside of our awesome cottage at Canyon Sunrise. This is Sundance.

Eating tortilla soup at Wimberley Cafe. SO GOOD!

We went and walked the square and had a little too much fun outside the little shops.

To be continued....

HoneymoOoOoOoOn Part Uno

2010-06-04T10:57:00.000-07:00

After our wedding, I had a surprise for Russell. For the first night of our honeymoon, I took him to Alexandra's Bed and Breakfast in San Marcos, TX. This place was a gem and we wish we could have stayed there longer. Here's a picture of it from the outside:

Isn't it beautiful?! We got the nicest room in the house- the Diana Suite.

This house has so much charm and was the perfect place for us to relax and unwind after a long wedding day. Our favorite part was the next morning when we had the delicious breakfast that Rosemary made for us. If I could describe it in one word, I would choose divine.

This is where was sat. Rosemary made us a special breakfast: Broiled Orange with Lavender, Dried Strawberry Scones, Eggs Benedict, and a scrumptious waffle with sour cream and berries. Delicious!!!

Unfortunately, we did have to leave. Here is our farewell picture with Rosemary and her husband, Reed:

To be continued.....

We're married!!!

2010-06-04T10:44:00.000-07:00

So, the day FINALLY came and we are married! I have to say that I loved everything about my wedding day and God really blessed us with great friends, a good time, and of course- holy matrimony!

Here are a few pictures I have that friends and family posted on Facebook:

My dad walking me down the aisle to Russell

Russell and I exchanging rings and saying our vows

Celebrating being husband and wife!!

I couldn't have asked for a better ceremony. Every piece of it was so special to me. Our close family and friends were there, two of my 8th (now 9th) grade girls played music beautifully, my youth minister, Garfield, officiated, and I married the man I love. Seriously, who could ask for more? Not to mention... Chapel Dulcinea is beautiful and emphasizes God's beautiful creation. I love it!

10 Days

2010-05-20T20:44:00.000-07:00

10 days until I marry my best friend, my love, my man. We have done a lot of wedding related stuff lately and it has made us both so much more anxious for the day to be here. I know it will be here before we know it and we will want the day to last as long as possible, and that it will fly by, but then we have our whole lives to spend together in love and making our life one that constantly seeking and glorifying the Lord.

Last week we met up with our officiator (my youth minister, Garfield!) and yesterday my two 8th grade girls came to play the ceremony music for Russell. Thinking of the two of those things makes me realize that our ceremony is going to be so meaningful. Instead of doing unity sand or a unity candle, we decided to take communion together as a symbol of the Lord leading us and being the foundation of our marriage. I'm excited for that moment and taking part in that with Russell.

I sometimes still feel like our wedding is forever away because we have been engaged for over a year, and it is hard to believe that it is 10 days away. I really can't believe it!

25 days until I'm Mrs. Dotson!!

2010-05-05T09:58:00.000-07:00

I've been all giddy lately because the big day is so close... So many fun things are happening the month. Russell is graduating on Saturday and I am SO proud of him and all of his hard work. He is seriously the most hard working student I have ever known and I know he will greatly benefit from that. I'm not being biased, because it is so true! He loves what he studies and does really well at it.

I am doing a bunch of last minute things right now, like linen rentals, music, and favors. Those are all a pretty big deal, but I'm not too nervous about it. I know it will all work out in the end!! I'm just so excited to be married to my best friend and in the country on our honeymoon in our private pool and hot tub. Seriously.

Anyways.. I will stop now. I'm just excited!!

Mi casa!!

2010-05-02T19:25:00.000-07:00

So, I need your help!! I bought a house last year, and now, Russell and I are trying to get it to be more "us" for when we get married. We plan to stay here quite a while (as long as we can) and think that we could definitely make it ours with a few changes. So far, we've added laminate wood flooring, ceramic tile, and new landscaping for our front yard. This summer, Russell plans to paint the outside of our house so we can really change the look and raise the curb appeal a little. Right now, our house has a dark feeling to it because of an icky brown color. Here is a pic of the house on closing day:

It doesn't look bad, but it definitely doesn't fit with my vision for it. After doing some tweaking to the picture on the Sherwin Williams website, this is what we both agree on for exterior paint:

I know the image is a little off with the paint lines, but this gives you an idea. My question is.... what do you think? I've always wanted a red door and I'm scared that it might be too much. So please let me know your opinion!!! :) Thanks friends.

Lovely Sunday

2010-05-02T17:41:00.000-07:00

Today was a great day. Even though I had to start my day off with a few hours of work at the nursery, I got to come home and see Russell, go on a picnic, take care of my new landscaping, and have dinner with my family. I would describe it all to you in great detail, but I will leave you with one simple word: blissful.

Lovin' life

2010-04-29T19:35:00.000-07:00

So I have been all about cleaning and getting my house into order lately!! Tonight I went out to eat with my parents, came home and vacuumed, mopped, and am now watching the Spurs win the playoffs! I never get too into basketball until the very end when everyone is talking about it... But it's still fun!

Anyways, that was quite the tangent. Sorry. Back to the casa. I have been all about keeping it clean and making it nice, especially since Russell and I are getting married in 31 days! I guess you can say I'm getting my wifely duties on. I only have one thing against this whole "keeping the house looking great" thing... Seymour and Franny, the pugs, are not happy with me. They have been staring at me from the backyard screen door with those big eyes, asking "Mommy, why can't I be in there with you?" It really breaks my heart. I love them, so I think one of my big plans for this summer is to get a gazebo and nicer landscaping in the back for them. They have plenty of shade now, but I still hate letting them out into a barely grassy backyard. So I'm excited to get that project started.

Now my house smells like lavender pine sol, my couches are free of any pet hair, and my floors are sooo clean! I'm a happy girl.

Bridal Shower!

2010-04-27T20:54:00.001-07:00

So I had a crazy wedding-packed weekend filled with a bridal shower and bridal portraits. I had so much fun! My sweet sister-to-be, Mimi, hosted an amazing bridal shower for me on Saturday, and it was wonderful. I have so many gifts that I have no idea what to do with.

Most of my gifts consist of really nice glassware such as crystal, wine glasses, and martini glasses. So, because I think these things are so pretty and valuable, I decided that I need a china cabinet. There is a perfect corner in my dining room for one and I have been hunting craigslist for the deals. I found some great ones, but think I will hold off until after the wedding to purchase anything.

Here's an idea of what I want:

and

Aren't they great? I'm dreaming right now... but seriously, how awesome would it be to display your nice dishes in a fancy cabinet? Love it.

Ramblings

2010-04-14T21:24:00.000-07:00

In 30 minutes there will be 45 days until the wedding. 45 days!!!

Life has been interesting lately. Russell is in his last 2 weeks of school at UMHB, I'm in my last 6 weeks of my first year of teaching, and or wedding is just around the corner. We have been very busy with different things around the house, getting it looking like more of a modern home than a 70s home. We updated all of our flooring and Russell recently trashed his icky couch in exchange for a nice, mock-leather, folding couch. I love it!

Our pugs are like children. Every night they sleep in bed with me. They are spoiled!! Franny has really made Seymour happy, and vice versa. They sleep on each other, chase each other around the house, and play "pug-o-war" together. I pretty much love watching the two of them.

I'm rambling because it's my bed time. Sheesh.

Crunch time!!

2010-04-08T13:30:00.000-07:00

So I am soooo excited because the wedding is in 52 days!!!! I really can't believe it. Can you? Here are a few things I still need to do:

1. Mail off invitations (waiting for my envelopes to arrive... they should be here tomorrow!!)

2. Book linen rentals... this is tough because there are so many places out there and I still don't know the measurements of the tables. Ugh!

3. Buy some sort of wedding favors. This is tough too... there is just too much out there!

That is all I can think of right now.... which is amazing. At first I had a TON to do... and now I don't have that much. Woo-hoo!!

If you want to learn more about the wedding, go to www.russellandkrista.com :-)

Wedding centerpieces!

2010-02-12T10:37:00.001-08:00

My lovely mom worked so hard on these for me as a surpise... I love them!!

So cute! And they match my colors perfectly. I really can't wait... 107 days!!!

Diet Days…. :-/

2010-01-19T19:01:00.001-08:00

SO… I got my wedding dress!!!! If you know my dress horror story, you know that I am very happy about finally having this. My mom and I went shopping on Saturday and we found the perfect dress! So relieved.

In the midst of trying on dresses, and finding the dress, I decided I’m going to be really serious about eating healthy and exercising until the wedding.

So here is my plan:

I found a diet that is one of those low/no carb diets and decided it was a go for me. I bought the food tonight to go with it. The plan is to choose one from each of these 3 categories and then that is your meal:

Proteins:
Egg whites with one whole egg for flavor
Chicken breast or thigh
Grass-fed organic beef
Pork

Legumes:
Lentils
Black beans
Pinto beans

Vegetables:
Spinach
Asparagus
Peas
Mixed vegetables

Tonight I had my first meal from this diet:

It was really yummy! And I have lunch for tomorrow. Not a bad idea!

I plan on incorporating some running back into my daily routine. I’m SURE that if I stick with this, I can lose 5 or 10 pounds, which is all I want to lose.

Salud!

Engagement Photos!

2010-01-12T18:56:00.001-08:00

So I’m really excited because today I got a sneak peek of our engagement photos!! I absolutely love Nicole’s work, and can’t wait to see the rest when they come in the mail. Here’s the eye candy…. :-)

Lots of complaining

2010-01-08T19:04:00.001-08:00

This has not been my best week. I went to the doctor this morning after 4 long days of rollercoaster sickness- fevers, headaches, sore throat, sneezing, achy body. I thought I had the flu at first, and while I am thankful I do not, I’m beginning to wonder when this thing will go away.

I don’t have cable so I don’t have anything to watch. I just picked up “Anna Karenina” this week right before I got sick, and now I can’t read it because of the pounding in my head. So what have I been doing? Sleeping. Shouldn’t I be better? :( I had to take off of work on Wednesday and again today.

If you can, please say a prayer for me! My head feels like it will explode and my throat feels like it’s on fire. Laryngitis is icky.

Happy New YEAR!

2010-01-01T19:28:00.001-08:00

So, what better way to start off the new year than with a brand new laptop? After a long night of multiple computer deaths in late 2009, I decided to start 2010 off with a bang by getting a new computer :-) I love it!

It is my dream to have a Mac (one day… one day!), but now I may not have to; I got a Dell with Windows 7 on it, and it is so similar to a Mac that I am quite content. Thank you Bill Gates for emulating perfection ;)

Will post more later!

5 months!!

2009-12-29T11:02:00.000-08:00

The countdown is shrinking!! On December 30th, we will only be 5 months away from our big day. I am so excited!! These upcoming 5 months are going to be a little difficult, but I know we can get through them. Russell will be finishing his degree back at UMHB this Spring, so we won't be able to see eachother that often. I will be finishing my last semester of teaching until vacation and finalizing plans for our wedding. I'm really excited :-)

Save the dates are going out this upcoming month!! We should have our engagement pics soon, too... will post those next!

Life is good!

2009-12-14T19:15:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Russell and I took some engagement pictures with my friend, Nicole. We went to the Botanical Gardens in Austin and also to some downtown spots. I'm really anxious to see the pics and post some up here :-) We had a great time.

I only have 4 days left until I'm on my 2 week vacation. I am soooo pumped. The kids are ready... I can tell! They're all talking about Christmas. I think I'm going to spend the time getting back into my gym routine and finishing my book. I'm currently reading "We Were the Mulvaneys" by Joyce Carol Oates... it's been hard to find time to read this week because of the business of school... so I want to finish it this month.

Russell is going to finish his degree in May! I'm so happy for him. He'll be all graduated and then it will be time for us to get married!! Wow. Time is flying by! There are 166 days until the wedding and I'm sooo happy. I know it will be here before I know it.

Not much else is going on... just workin'!

House Remodeling Progress :)

2009-11-28T20:39:00.000-08:00

So Russell and I recently bought flooring for our home! The house should be completely remodeled by the time we are married, making it perfect for settling in and making it "our home". I'm so excited!!

Here is a picture of the living room. Russell installed the flooring all by himself! I just decorated :-)

I loooove the living room! I can't wait until the rest of the house is finished :)

Chapel Dulcinea

2009-11-11T09:33:00.000-08:00

I'm soooo excited about where we are getting married!! Not only is it beautiful, but it is free!!! Russell and I fell in love with it. It's called Chapel Dulcinea and it is located in Austin, TX. (it's basically my favorite city because we got engaged there).

We recently decided that we wanted our weddding to include only our closest family and friends. We didn't want to go through the mess of paying for food for people we're not especially close to, and so we chose to hold our reception at Chapel Dulcinea's free (I repeat, free!) reception pavilion. They have an awesome cake, snacks, and punch reception that includes all set-up and clean-up fees for only $450. A wedding for under $500.00?! Yes, this is what we are doing. I. love. it.

So basically, I want to get married this weekend.... but I also know I need to enjoy our engagement and just wait. Come on, May 30th!!

Empanadas...

2009-11-02T19:37:00.001-08:00

So ever since Russell and I tried the food at Habana (where we are having our reception!!) in Austin, we have LOVED empanadas. So I've been trying to find the perfect empanada recipe so we could have them whenever we want. Tonight... it was oh.so.good.

I got the recipe from Paula Deen, of course. If you are interested in making your tastebuds think they are in heaven, try it out!

Centerpiece idea!!

2009-11-02T09:55:00.000-08:00

So I LOVE this cute idea for a centerpiece I found on 100 Layer Cake. What do you think?

I think I may ask my mom to make the cakes for the centerpieces at my wedding... she makes amazing cakes and I think they would look great!! Hopefully she says yes :-)

Birthday Yay

2009-10-29T08:52:00.000-07:00

Today is my birthday!!! I've had a great day so far :-) I've been blessed with many hugs from my students, and they've been telling eachother to be quiet because it's Ms. Quinn's birthday :-) So sweet.

Wedding changes...

2009-10-28T20:23:00.001-07:00

So I thinking I'm learning a LOT more about myself as I plan the wedding... I'm realizing that I'm not the type who wants a big fancy wedding. At first, we had 60 people on our guest list. Now.... We have 25-30. There are times when we even consider just walking to the court house and getting married. As each day goes by, I just want to get married! I don't really care too much for the actual event. But there are only 7 months until wedding and we've minimized the list to our closest family and a few girlfriends of mine from college. I don't know what will change and what will stay the same.

I do know that our wedding is about us. That is all that matters.

Sunday

2009-10-25T21:04:00.000-07:00

So this morning I was soooo excited to go to Journey Fellowship!! We went to the church and saw an empty parking lot... we asked each other if it was already daylight savings time, but concluded that it wasn't. We pulled up to the front of the church and there was a police officer and a friendly man who told us that it was their day of the quarter to go into the community and distribute food and water, but to please come back next Sunday. How cool is that?? We are definitely going to be going this upcoming Sunday!! I can't wait for this week to go by. I was a little disappointed that we couldn't go and see what it was like, but we ended up going to I-Hop and eating yummy breakfast. 7 days!!

Russell has been sick all week and I feel so bad for him. I think he is getting the flu... :( Unless he already has it. :-/ I thought he was getting better, but later today he got nauseous and had a horrible headache. I hope a good night of sleep helps him tonight!! That's also why we haven't met our nephew!! Rhys Edward Conklin :) I can't wait to meet the little guy. Hopefully we will see him next Sunday.

Today we did a lot to the house. Russell painted our dining room and now our house is beginning to feel more like a home!! And there's nothing like the fresh smell of paint on the walls... I know it's weird, but to me, it makes a house smell more clean. I tidied up the dining room after it dried, and then I rearranged the furniture in the master bedroom. I've been trying to decide which desk I want for my "office" (which will be located in the master bedroom) and Russell said he could probably make me one. This is what I've decided on:

Is that not the coolest thing ever? It's a "floating" desk. I think I'm going to ask him to make some "floating" shelves also. But this will be perfect for lesson planning and storing teacher manuals and binders.... and also for the future when I'm studying for big SLP exams... eeeek! I can't wait to have my own space.

Well, I'd better get to bed. Long week ahead of me!! Oh, and I'm turning 23!!! crazy.

Weekend Happenings -Random!

2009-10-24T22:25:00.000-07:00

Today I went to an 8-hour workshop for ELA teachers. There were only about 8 of us there, which made it a really personable group. I feel like I learned a lot about what I need to do to better understand how my students learn, and what I can do to help them achieve mastering vocabulary and comprehension. I have 2 more of these workshops for the next 2 Saturdays, but I'm excited!!

Tomorrow we are going to try a new church - Journey Fellowship. We've been looking for a church for both of us for a long time now, and after listening to a few podcasts tonight and reading about their beliefs and ministries, I feel very enthusiastic about this visit!! Plus, they have coffee in the mornings- which is always a plus! ;) I will update more about this tomorrow!! Right now, I should really go to bed because I am tiiiiiired. This is the latest I've stayed up in a long time!

What is up

2009-10-10T23:05:00.000-07:00

So even though Russell and I already have our own wedding website, I thought it would be nice to have our own blog that we could use now and after the wedding. A lot has happened in our lives, and I suppose I will give a quick update for my first post.

We got a house! Russell and I got a cute house in Converse, TX. It was built in 1979 and needs a few updates, but it is absolutely perfect for us so we can make it our own. Russell has already done some pretty major updates to the kitchen, and is now adding his own custom waines cotting to the dining room. I love it!! I will have to post pictures of the finished product. It is wonderful to have our living situation figured out before the wedding because of all the stress that will come with the wedding in itself! We eventually want to add things like wood floors and crown molding, but it will all come with time.
I'm a teacher! I finally got a teaching job and am now teaching 4th and 8th grade English at a San Antonio charter school. I love teaching and truly feel like my job has a purpose!
Grad school Russell and I will both be starting grad school in 2010. I begin my SLP classes on June 7th (one day after we get back from our honeymoon!!) and Russell will begin his rhetoric classes in August. Am I nerd for looking forward to this? It will be like old times when we study together these upcoming years. I can't wait!

These are the major updates I can think of. All I can say is that I am so thankful for the blessings God has poured out on me. I am blessed to be in love with my best friend and that I get to spend the rest of my life with him! I will write more soon.... :)