To blog or not to blog?

Hi friends,
Lately I have been feeling the urge to start blogging again. I have missed documenting certain aspects of my life. For instance, I put to rest my all time favorite black flats the other day. I have had them for years and literally the sole of the shoe was sliding through a hole in the back. They were my first pair of shoes that I absolutely loved and were my "go-to" shoes with any outfit. Girls would always compliment them. Ahh...I am going to miss those shoes. Those shoes needed some recognition before being thrown in the trash! I miss sharing recipes and books that I have been trying. Some things just need to be shared! Also, I enjoy having pictures and posts about our life here on the Island. I know I will look back and enjoy them.
So...here I go again. I can't promise regular posts but I will try. :)

To catch you up here are the highlights over the last 6 months of our life:

- Started teaching kindergarten. There could be several posts on my thoughts, experiences, and feelings of my 1st year teaching. I am learning to love teaching and I am learning a lot about myself in the process. It has been a growing experience in many aspects.

-Chad is still on his rotations. Each new rotation brings a set of challenges and successes. He takes his boards this November...scary and exciting!

-I have started running. I have really enjoyed it. My friend and I try to run Monday-Thursday 1.5-3 miles. We were finally running 3 miles and then Christmas happened.

-We got a new T.V. and its awesome. Enough said.

-We have found a church home that we love. It is here on the Island. Through church, we have joined a small group and met some wonderful people. Let me tell you it is a great feeling to be a part of a community of believers again. So thankful for our new church home and new friends.

-I have started a book sharing club. Instead of reading a book a month, we share books each month that we have read. Be prepared to be bombarded with book recommendations.

-I got a Kindle for Christmas and love it! I am now addicted to Words with Friends, Scramble, and Temple Run. Feel free to ask me to play.

-Chad went through a bout of depression with the hockey lock-out but now he is happy again, watching hockey games weekly.

-Chad and I have started Financial Peace with Dave Ramsey. We are now penny saving budget monsters. Debt free in 2013 (totally not going to happen but we will debt free...one dayyyyy)

So that's the highlights. Here's to more blogging! I know you have missed the stories about us and our adventure on the Island ;)

Long time no see

Hello Blog World- it's been a while...

So sorry for lack of posts but my life has been crazy lately!

Let's go back to the last week in June-

Chad's Family came

Following Sunday, Chad left for Lufkin- his 1st surgery rotation.

That Thursday I left for Austin to see my family.

The next week I was off work and my family came to Galveston

That Thursday my family left and then my best friend and her boyfriend came for the weekend

Are you following? Yes, craziness!

Plus, add that I got hired as a kindergarten teacher!!! :):):) 

My life has been turned upside down!

Right now, my head is spinning...

I am trying to put my classroom together

Chad is still gone

And

I am finishing up my last 2 weeks as a nanny

(Side note: I am SO sad to be leaving the family and the little boy I've been a nanny for. It is going to be hard but luckily they said I can babysit! )

So yeah, life has been crazy.

Honestly, I don't know how much I will be able to blog now. I have loved blogging and thinking of things to write about but with school, Chad, and life in general I don't know if I will have time now. 

I am so happy and excited to start my career. God is good and I'm loving the story He is writing for me. 

For right now, I am taking a break from blogging and focusing on all the new changes in my life. 

Thank you all for reading, supporting, and loving Chad and I. 

Blessings to you all!

Update

Just a quick update on Chad...

He is doing well. His first day was full of new experiences and all the typical "first days" things of not knowing whats really going on. His second day was better. He worked 13 hours! (Am I ready for this life style?) He said the whole day was very stressful from answering many questions from his supervisor about surgery and helping out with the surgery. He was extremely tired when he got off. He has the 4th off which is nice. So far I have only gotten to talk to him for about 10-15 minutes a day due to his homework load, studying, and needing to rest. Prayers would be appreciated as he starts this new part of his life!

I am doing good- eating lots of cherry stuff. (Chad hates anything cherry so I stopped buying stuff that had cherries.) I am trying to stay as busy as possible! Thankfully, my family is coming for a week and then my best friend from childhood. I love having company so I'm excited!

I hope everyone has a happy and safe 4th of July!

And He's Off

He's off! He already has made it to his new location!

So proud of him! I know he will do great :)

Go Chad Go! You're in our prayers! 

We love you! 

Fast and the Furious

Wow- these last 2 weeks of June have just flown by! 

This past week Chad's family came to see us. It was fun to share Galveston and all it's shrimp, humidity, and mosquitoes with them. 

We ate at some great places that I have wanted to try for some time.

One in particular was this soda shop on the Strand. I have always wanted to eat there because it looks so neat and has ice cream of course.

 I got a "Ship Wreck" float! I was in heaven!

I love coke floats so I was one happy girl!

Chad's Mom and I had girl time and went looking at a cute antique shop. Oh if I had money...I would buy everything in there! 

We all became addicted to watching a show called Shark Tank on ABC. It is an interesting show where people who have invented something try to get investors to invest in their product. 

We also relaxed and just enjoyed being together:)

Chad's family stayed at a really nice resort that had mini golf, a pool, and was right across the street from the beach.

The 1st night of mini golf...I WON! I am the worst golf player ever so it was shocking that I beat all the  boys. Chad wanted a rematch which by then my luck had run out so he won :(

ME- the mini golf dominator!!

I was trying to make my "mini golf mean face" but then started laughing so I just look weird in this picture.

It was great to have family and very sad to see them go. We don't know when we will see them next :( 

It was also sad because it meant June was over and Chad's rotation will start Monday.

He leaves tomorrow for his 1st month long rotation in surgery. 

I am at a lost as to how to describe this upcoming change in our lives.

I am incredibly sad to be without Chad for a month. Luckily in our relationship, we have never had to do long distance so it scares me to have to do it now. I am worried about him. I want to be with him, taking care of all his needs. I want to see him everyday, feel his arms around me, and let him take care of me. I am also extremely proud of him and know he will do amazing! I feel honored to be his wife and very proud to say, "Yes, my husband is becoming a PA." He has worked so hard to come to this point that it feels good to be starting rotations, the beginning of the end of his schooling.

Ah, so many emotions. I know I am going to bawl like a baby tomorrow when he drives off. It's just another phase of our life. This next year will be full of joys and sorrows, adjustments and failures, hope and love. I will try to be thankful for all of the them because it's part of Chad's and I life, part of the story of how we are accomplishing our dreams, making our life worth while, becoming who we are suppose to be. So with all these emotions, I  put on my game face, knowing I can and will survive this next phase of our life.

I know I will look back at this phase to tell my kids, "You know your dad and I lived in Galveston for a while...it sure was an adventure...and yes the cockroaches were really big!"

Father's Day

In honor of Father's Day...

This video is so funny!

Book Worm

What I have been reading lately...

 "In 1665, a young man from Martha's Vineyard became the first Native American to graduate from Harvard College. Upon this slender factual scaffold, Brooks has created a luminous tale of love and faith, magic and adventure."

This was a good read- some parts I thought were just a tad slow. It was a story about the life of an Indian boy and his friend, a white girl- once again I love other cultures  and feel their way of life and values have so much to offer us. I also enjoy reading about the past, thinking how times have changed so much. Good Read.

"In Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa See takes us on a journey back to a captivating era of Chinese history and delves into one of the most mysterious of human relationships: female friendship.  
In nineteenth-century China, in a remote Hunan county, a girl named Lily, at the tender age of seven, is paired with a laotong, an “old same,” in an emotional match that will last a lifetime."

I really enjoyed reading this book. I read it in a couple of days. It was so interesting! The book discusses foot binding in the Chinese culture which I found fascinating and researched more on it while reading the book. There is one scene in the book where I had to call my mother-in-law and say, "What is happening?!? Where is this going?!" but she reassured me to keep reading. The dynamics of women roles in this book was very thought provoking. Wonderful read! There is also a movie but they changed it up a lot and I didn't really like it. 

"A story rich in passion and legend, The Lady of the Rivers is the story of Jacquetta, Duchess of Bedford, a woman who navigated a treacherous path through the battle lines in the Wars of the Roses.When Jacquetta is married to the Duke of Bedford, English regent of France, he introduces her to a mysterious world of learning and alchemy. Her only friend in the great household is the duke’s squire Richard Woodville, who is at her side when the duke’s death leaves her a wealthy young widow. The two become lovers and marry in secret, returning to England to serve at the court of the young King Henry VI, where Jacquetta becomes a close and loyal friend to his new queen."


If your into reading about the past I would recommend this. It was fun to escape into this time period with Queens and Kings. I did learn things and researched more on the time period because I found I didn't know much about it. I enjoyed it but didn't love it. 

"Eva Ward returns to the only place she truly belongs, the old house on the Cornish coast, seeking happiness in memories of childhood summers. There she finds mysterious voices and hidden pathways that sweep her not only into the past, but also into the arms of a man who is not of her time.

But Eva must confront her own ghosts, as well as those of long ago. As she begins to question her place in the present, she comes to realize that she too must decide where she really belongs."


This book took me a while to get into but after I did I loved it! It was one of those books that I was very sad to be reading the last page because I wanted the story to continue. It is set in England, which now I want to visit badly and drink tea!  Great read if you want something different!

"Paris, July 1942: Sarah, a ten-year-old girl, is taken with her parents by the French police as they go door to door arresting Jewish families in the middle of the night. Desperate to protect her younger brother, Sarah locks him in a bedroom cupboard—their secret hiding place—and promises to come back for him as soon as they are released.

Sixty Years Later: Sarah’s story intertwines with that of Julia Jarmond, an American journalist investigating the roundup. In her research, Julia stumbles onto a trail of secrets that link her to Sarah, and to questions about her own future."

First of all, I am fascinated with the Holocaust...how something so awful could happen, the devastation it did to so many people, the questions it brings up in my mind, people's ability to survive, and the many emotions that it causes. I loved this book! It was written in such a powerful, moving way. It is not a happy book by any means...but it's real- and I love that. I am still thinking about it after days of reading it. Very moving! There is also a movie based on the book and they did a wonderful job. Of course they had to make little changes but over all it was a great representation of the book. So read this book and then watch the movie!         

Any books you love and would recommend?

Happy Reading!