Taking it back to February

Well, here's a few highlights from back in February as back posts were promised. I plan to print out my blog one of these days, so I want to remember these. The very last weekend of January/first of Feb we went to Gun Barrel City, TX to help celebrate my grandpa's 90th birthday! It was great to get to see everyone and enjoy a beautiful day outside by the lake.

Happy 90th Birthday Grandpa! His cake was a model of the plane he used to fly in the airforce in WWII.My family by the lake
The next weekend we headed out to the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo! It was so much fun and came at a perfect time for a much needed date night. We had fun walking around the grounds and looking at the animals, enjoyed some yummy Texas barbeque, and then watched a great rodeo. Afterward I wanted to ride a few rides until we discovered that most cost $5-6 per person for a 1 minute ride. Honestly, I may have risked my life on the sketchy fair rides for 2 to 3 bucks, but dang they were a pretty price. So instead we decided to meet up with some friends for dancing at Billy Bob's. It was a great weekend!

Our Valentine's Day surrounded two tests for Colby, so we decided to have a romantic night in and cooked up some delicious crab legs, rice, bread with dipping sauce, grilled veggies, and chocolate covered strawberries. We had a good night enjoying food, each other, and the the good 'ole Renal system.

Crab legs, my favorite!

Colby getting the grilled veggies readyCan't have Valentines without these!
Our romantic dinner with Rocky too, in our sweats, can't get much better than that!

Where Have I Been?

Ok blog world, I'm coming out of the closet with where I've been these last few months. As you know, I'm usually a regular blogger, posting our updates, etc. Additionally, I'm a really good blog reader, I love keeping updated with what everyone is doing. I love getting comments on our blog, so in return I'm an excellent commenter...it lets you know that someone's reading your efforts! Well, in January I made the decision to go back to school. Yikes, it was a big one and has proved to be even bigger! I'm going to UT Arlington and am working toward my master's in nursing. I'm leaning toward doing pediatric nurse practitioner, although have rethought this many times. I'm only taking 6 hours of classes and this has been one of the hardest semesters of my life! School is very time demanding as I'm taking Advanced Pathophysiology and a Nursing Theory class. Well, keep in mind I'm also working full time at the hospital and am a full time wife taking care of Colby and getting him through med school. So now the previous posts of me feeling burden make sense huh? I know I'm not alone and many people do this with graduate schoool, however I think I might have overestimated myself. I've been stressed out and spreading myself pretty thin, so I would like to thank my hubby for putting up with me as well as my friends who I haven't called back in ages. I turned in a heck of a research paper yesterday and feel like I can breathe again now that next week is Spring Break. (Still working, but you get my drift!) I have a feeling I'll get to start posting again soon, and there will be lots of back posts. Oh well, such is life! Well, my first goal is simply to finish this semester, and then we'll see how I feel about continuing at that point...one day at a time and I don't want to talk myself out of it, it's just really tempting to going back to nursing and wife-ing and have a little more time for myself in all the busyness. Hope everyone is doing well!

Here's what my kitchen table has looked like this past week...

And then yesterday when I'm trying to finish up before turning in

Happy Anniversary Paige and Jarod!!

Today is Colby's older sister Paige and her husband Jarod's 4th wedding anniversary!!! Congratulations you two! It has been a pure blessing to have you two to walk through life with. We have loved spending time with you and strengthening our marriages together. You have been through so much together and have truly shown us the importance of clinging to God and to each other to make it through anything that comes your way. We admire your strength and your faith in God's perfect timing for you and pray many blessings upon your marriage. We love ya'll and hope your day is blessed. Look how far you've come since 2005....

Jarod & Paige

Colby's Surprise Party

Ok, I'm attempting to catch up slowly but surely. So remember when I said I had big plans for Colby's birthday back in January? Well...I threw him a surprise party! Lots of friends from school came over to help us celebrate Colby's 26th with wine and cheese and yummy Holy Cow cake! Thanks everyone for making it so special, we feel so blessed to have found so many fun friends here. Colby was definitely surprised! :)

Andrew made a "26" out of the candles!

One Day at a Time...

Hey guys, I'm sure you've wondered where we've been. And my answer to that question is.... everywhere! I have had one of the busiest months of my life and I haven't gotten to do some of the things I enjoy most, like updating our blog, or reading other blogs for that matter. I do apologize for the delay, and I know I'll get back to it at one point. Right now, I'm praying for peace and for guidance with juggling many tasks. I think it is very fitting for me to be posting today on Ash Wednesday, as today marks the beginning of Lent, where we are to prepare our hearts for the greatest sacrifice and miracle that is to come on Easter. I promise to post fun pictures and updates of what we've been doing, because we have done a lot of fun things as of late. But my heart has been burdened and I'm longing to have peace and I know I need to spend more time in prayer and in the Word. I've felt very pressed and a song that has really spoken to me lately and has literally been my prayer is this one by Josh Wilson. I just thought I would share it with anyone that has also been feeling the weight of the world. Blessings to you all!

Savior, please take my hand .
I work so hard, I live so fast.
This life begins, then it ends.
And then I do the best that I can,
but I don't know how long I'll last.

I try to be so tough,
but I'm just not strong enough.
I can't do this alone, God I need you
to hold on to me.
I try to be good enough,
but I'm nothing without your love.
Savior, please keep saving me.

Savior, please help me stand.
I fall so hard, I fade so fast.
Will you begin right where I end?
And be the God of all I am because you're all I have.

Hallelujah!
Everything you are to me
is everything I'll ever need.
and i am learning to believe
cause you're the one who's saving me.

Our New Year's

Well, this is clearly a little late, but I didn't quite get to the post when it happened. For New Years we went down to Del Rio to Lake Amistad to go fishing. Colby and his dad have a tradition that they go each year for their father/son trip, and since he's in school and had such a short break, Pat and I got to go with them!! It was very cold, but relaxing to spend time watching bowl games and movies by night and fishing by day. I loved getting to spend time with Colb over the break, it was great, but we are back to the real world now and he's a few tests into his 2nd semester!

Colby and The World's Greatest Dad posing with our first day's catch-18 keepers, with 2 stripers

Pat's MONSTER white bass! :)Reo with the catch of the trip, this striper was at least 8 lbs.!We're freezing!!After the second day of fishing we caught 25 keepers, and then were just throwing them back! It was fun finding a "honey hole." So, then after watching the bowl games, and it was getting close to midnight, we had been hearing firecrackers all night long and usually around the 4th of July and New Year's the two canyons at the lake have a firework battle, and it's fun to watch them all go back and forth. So Colby and I bundled up and drove down to the boat ramp to watch the show at midnight. Here's the clock verifying it's 2009...
Colby saying, "stop with the pictures the flash is too bright!"And then to celebrate......NOTHING!
Not a single flash in sight! Oh well, it's 2009!

Happy Birthday to my Love!

Today is Colby's birthday!!! Happy 26th! It's crazy how fast time flies, considering we met when we were 21. I love you so much and am so proud of you and all the amazing things you are learning. I know things get tough and you are sick of studying, but you are following exactly what God has planned for you and equipping yourself for ministering to others as a physician. I couldn't be more happy to see you living out God's will for your life. Thank you for all of the joy you bring to my life, I can't imagine spending it with anyone else. You're my favorite! I love you!!

Christmas Card 2008