Married Life

And ANOTHER 4 months later......

2011-11-06T16:57:00.002-07:00

With 2 posts in an 8 month span, I'm doubting I even have any followers on this blog anymore, but JUST IN CASE, I wanted to finally say hello from Burleson, TX. Boy does it feel like that last post from Loveland, Colorado four months ago was about 4 years ago. Life here in TX is good. I moved down permanently the 1st of August. Chris stayed a week and then had to go back to CO for 4 final weddings, so we were away from each other for FOUR WHOLE WEEKS, which was just awful! But I stayed with Kellye Beard (now Hill) while I looked for work here, and it was so awesome getting to stay with Kel and her hubby and 2 kids (dogs). :) I really miss all of them now that we're in our own place and have been since the begining of September.

So I'll just tell you right now that I haven't taken a single picture that wasn't of Jasmine or Kellye's dogs since my last post, so this post will not be full of pictures. Sorry! Well, in a very small and brief nutshell we are in Burleson, TX. I didn't get a teaching job but got a job as an aide at an Elementary School in the same school district where dad and his wife work. As an aide, I am making less money than I EVER have in our 4 years of marriage, so AS ALWAYS, we are frugal as ever. BUT I LOVE MY JOB!!!!!!! I work with amazing teachers and administrators, and though they wear me out and I do NOT like them some days, I truly love my kids and this new mission field the Lord has given me. I work as a Tier 2/Tier 3 Paraprofessional which is a fancy way of saying that I pull small groups of students out of class and help them with Reading or Math, for Grades K-5. If anyone reading this has ever worked as an aide, you know that your job is basically whatever anyone tells you to do on top of your actual job decsription so that synopsis definitely doesn't cover the million things that I do each week. BUT I LOVE IT and besides the pay, couldn't have asked for a better place to start and a better group of people to learn from.
Chris has already booked 2 TX weddings, but because of my HORRIBLE pay as an aide (we're VERY hopeful and prayerful that this will turn into a nice pay increase as a teaching job next year), he's currently working at a golf course. He likes the job ok, but it's 45 minutes away and very little pay. So he is also substitute teaching (he'll only have his 2nd day of this tomorrow) and is liking that so far. We are very hopeful that next year he can just focus on the business down here if I am making a teacher's salary.
We've already found a great church and have a friends from there that we hang out with, so that is a huge blessing. And I have already spent as much time with my family this year than I have combined since we've been married. We do miss his family a lot but I am very thankful for this season with my family. We miss out CO friends and church family terribly as well but truly feel so blessed to already have some friends and a church fmaily here!
So I guess the next big thing for us will be Thanksgiving. We were nominated to host this year, now that we have a rental house that is more than 2 times the size of our condo back home. So my mom, Chris' parents and 2 of his aunts and uncles will be here for a week. I'd like to say that I would be posting lotsa of pics after T-Day, but I just can't guarantee anything at this point. :) So I will just leave this blog for now with this very brief update and see if there is anyone that is still reading it! :)
Love to you all! xoxo

4 months later....

2011-07-24T15:06:00.008-07:00

Dunno if anyone will even be following this anymore since I must be one of the worst bloggers ever! I seriously have had tons of things to tell all of you out there, but the past several months have just been CRAZY! I do have some pretty exciting news to tell everyone (and no it is NOT that we're expecting, cuz I know that's what you're thinking), but before I do that, I wanted to kinda back track a bit and share some pics from a few different things...
So in chronological order:
in April, we went down to the lake in NM, but we didn't do anything but work. We built a deck on the front of the house and Chris and his dad put in a sliding glass door, so this is the one pic I have from that, which is Jasmine pooped out in our room after a long, fun-filled day. The lake is her fave place ever!

Then in May, I surprised Chris with a night in Blackhawk, where he could gamble for his bday (thank goodness his parents gave him gambling money as their bday gift to him).

Then in June, we went to TX for my lil sis's HS graduation. Didn't take hardly any pics, but thought this one was pretty funny of Jasmine making sure we did not leave without her (which, sadly, we did, but we left her in very wonderful hands as one of our friends house and dog sat for us):

Then later that month, we snake sat in return for the dog-sitting, and we LOVED having "Nake," the bull python here with us. He was the sweetest lil guy.

And finally, just thought I'd share the only pic I took after our fam 4th of July picnic: Jazzy passed out in the car from all the excitement!

Alright, so that sums it up for now, and.....now I can tell you that Chris and I are finally moving back to TX so I can, Lord-willing, become a teacher! There is obviously LOTS more to tell than just that, but since it's gonna be crazy around him due to packing and moving in 2 weeks, I wasn't sure when I'd be able to post again. So there you have it. I do not have a job yet but know the Lord has a great job waiting for me. We'll stay with my amazingly gracious and generous friend, Kel in Grandview, until we know where we wanna rent, based on where I get a job. So, I'll keep ya posted! xoxo

My Birthday

2011-03-27T13:08:00.005-07:00

I can't believe it has taken me 1.5 weeks to post about my birthday. My husband deserves so much doting, which I have done to tons of people in person, but not yet here on my blog. So, now is the time. Let me take you thru the day of my 31st bday....
Sadly, I did have to work on my bday, but my gift to myself was taking off the 2 days following my bday, so 8 hours of work on Wednesday, but then I was off for FOUR wonderfully long and relaxing days!
So, Chris picked me up at work at 4pm, and we did have to head to the chiropractor first. But after that, we grabbed dinner at one of my fave sandwich places, The Spicy Pickle, and headed home. When I got home, Chris said that I was only allowed to sit and eat dinner until I opened my gift. So, we ate some YUMMY sandwiches, and then he gave me a really big gift bag to open. He got me a very cute and funny card saying something like being married to me was better than being in a recliner with a beer in hand, with total control of the remote. haha He also got me 2 shirts that were on clearance from Kohl's (he so knows me) and the verse from Joshua 24:15 that says "as for me and my house, we'll serve the Lord," as one of those vinyl lettering things that you put up on a wall.

this is now the 1st thing you see when you walk thru our front door, which is something i have always wanted.

And the last thing in my gift bag, was some sorta of shelf hanger thingy, which led me to believe that Chris was going to re-do my closet as one of my bday gifts. We've been talking about this for quite some time. Chris and I know we'll most likely be in our condo for several more years in order to be able to turn a profit on it, and we also watch alot of HGTV and get ideas about home improvement projects all the time. But having more than one boring hanging rod and one shelf in our closet going across the entire thing, is something I have wanted for quite some time. So, I was excited to see this hanger thingy in my bag, BUT I didn't quite know the full meaning of it, until Chris said, "Now I still have a lil painting to do, but go look at your closet..." And this is what I saw...(now remember that all it was before I went to work at 8am that same morning, was one bar under one shelf across both walls of our closet...

I dunno how much you can tell from this picture, but with the help of one of his buddies, my hubby, in one workday did all of this built-in shelving and put up extra bars! Isn't that sooooooooo sweet???? I have these pics in my phone and have been showing them to every girl I know, and they all say, "I want one. Please show this to my husband!" :) lol So, here is what it looks like with clothes in it. Both my side and his. And I must tell you that I now have almost all of my clothes in this one closet instead of in this one and in the spare bedroom's closet!

And THEN, that night, my hubby had secretly gotten some Blue Bell ice cream, which had just come to Colorado and is my all-time fave ice cream brand ever,and he surprised me with that as we celebrated my bday with his family! Oh SO YUMMY!

So, as if all of that wasn't enough, we had a GREAT day off on Thursday and went to the movies, which I blogged about yesterday, and then on Friday night, my hubby surprised me AGAIN with a surprise party! My girlfriends asked me a lil while ago to go out with them to an unknown location for dinner on Friday night. We were meeting at one of their houses, and Chris was coming with me, because he was going over to help the husband of that house hang a tv mount while we were at dinner. He brought his tools and everything, and then when I walked in the door, SURPRISE! All of our wonderful friends from church were there, and we ate yummy tacos and nachos and had my fave cake, funfetti cake for dessert.

Whew! So, he has DEFINITELY MORE THAN made up for not making a very big deal last year of my 30th, and wow, do I have an amazing hubby or what?
Just had to dote on him! :)

Cousins

2011-03-26T12:51:00.002-07:00

A few weeks ago, Jasmine's cousin, Angel came to stay the weekend with us. Angel is 1and pretty hyper, so she wore poor, old Jazzy out, and she slept for almost 4 days straight after Angel left, BUT they had a good time, and I just had to share the most precious picture with y'all...

2.5 more weeks go by....

2011-03-26T07:16:00.003-07:00

I HOPE to write a couple of posts this morning, but I'm to the point where it makes no sense anymore to promise things like that. So, I will just do one post at a time and see where we get. I'm going to start at the most recent and go backwards...

This 1st post is going to be about movies. Chris and I have always loved watching movies as a couple. When we were 1st married, we went to the movies almost every weekend, but that was something we cut out since then. So, now we also enjoy using redbox and renting movies for $1. If you dunno about redbox, look it up, because it is one of the coolest things ever; especially if you're a movie buff!

Anyways, so we have had the privilege lately of getting to go to the movies a few times, one as a splurge for my bday (which is going to be another full post), and once last night because we had free fandango tickets. We also have rented some more movies lately because we got a redbox deal for even CHEAPER rentals than $1 each. That being said, I just wanted to tell you about a few of our recent favorites.

Last night, we saw The Lincoln Lawyer. It was a good movie that kept my attention the entire 2 hours. I enjoyed it, but was the TINIEST bit disappointed because I felt it was a lil predictable. But I would still recommend it.

Last week on one of my days off, we went to a matinee of Just Go With It. Now Chris and I both LOVED this one! I'd been dying to see it since it came out anyways, because it looks hilarious and I really like Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler, but sometimes, in my opinion, Adam Sandler movies, though always funny, can be a lil crude. Well, I will say that I felt like this one was low on crudeness and VERY high on cuteness and humor! I HIGHLY recommend this!

In the last couple of weeks, we rented The Next Three Days, with Russell Crowe, and I thought this one looked interesting from its first appearance in theaters, but I wasn't quite sure about it, and I hadn't known anyone who'd seen it and could comment on it. But we LOVED it! It was a great all-around suspense/action movie that I highly recommend.

And finally, had to throw one in that we did not like....How Do You Know. I have been dying to see this one since it hit theaters but have very impatiently waited for it to finally hit redbox. So we rented it this week, right after it came out. I LOVE Reese Witherspoon and have alos liked alot of movies starring Owen Wilson and Paul Rudd. BUT in my opinion, this movie was weird and SLOOOOOOOOOOOW from the beginning, all the way to the very end. Now, it wasn't so bad, that we were tempted to turn it off, but I was just glad that I was at home and could get up now and then and do other things to accommodate my ADD. :) It did have enough humor to keep us going, but if someone had told me this before I watched the movie, I really dunno if I would've wasted even a dollar to rent it.

Alright, people, that's one, and now I am going to go read and drink some coffee. Hopefully, I will be back on later today or tomorrow to write some more! :)

Wow, I am really bad at this!

2011-03-08T13:59:00.002-07:00

My sincere apologies to anyone who actually still checks on my blog posts since I have done like 2 so far in 2011!

Things here in Loveland are quite crazy with my new job. Though I have a commute of 5 mins instead of 30 and I work one less hour a day because I get paid for my half hour lunch now, I still feel very busy and stretched and a lil stressed. I will never complain about being busy after my brain-less job of the past 2.5 years BUT my new job is GO GO GO and CRAZY CRAZY CRAZY, and it has been a tough transition.

I dunno if any of you have ever worked at a calling center before, but I haven't EVER, and there's a definite reason for that. So I am definitely hoping to, at some point this year, move out of my current full-time phone support role to a different one, if possible and Lord-willing!

Other than that, next week is my 31st bday, and I am stoked because though I have to work Wed, my actual bday, I took off next Thurs and Fri for a FOUR-DAY-BIRTHDAY WEEKEND!

Also, one quick, random update, I am now seeing a chiropractor 3 times a week (yikes) for the next 3 months to try and stop some of the degeneration I am seeing in my spine and neck. I have never even known anyone that visits a chiropractor, so I am not too thrilled but the x-rays of my spine were definitely convicting for both Chris and I when we got my "report of findings" last week. Sigh! :)

Well, that is about all the time I have to post today. God bless!!!

A Christmas Blog-2 months late :)

2011-02-22T16:35:00.004-07:00

Hey Guys! There are a few things to update you on in our lives, but I have been promising a Christmas post for some time now. So I am going to lead with that and hopefully get to some updates a lil later on this week or next...

So, we had a HECK of a time actually getting to Houston because when I went to check in online 24 hours before our flight was set to leave Christmas morning, it couldn't find my flight. When I searched by my credit card, it had a flight that was going to Aspen several hours later than our flight, and when I searched by flight number, it showed a flight going to Ontario Canada. I logged onto Expedia which is where we booked our flights NINE months earlier and had gotten them for killer prices! And in my Expedia account, it showed all the same info that I'd been looking at and checking on for the previous 9 months. Still, I was quite worried, and I wanted to get checked in, so I called Expedia. After a 2 hour phone call, it was determined that my flight had been cancelled back in AUGUST and 1) somehow the United or Expedia notification email didn't get sent to me (odd, huh?) and 2) when things like that happen, Expedia doesn't find it necessary to update your online flight information!!!!! So, after the 2 hours with the 1st Expedia we were supposed to have gotten everything worked out and gotten us on another flight, though it was much later in the day. And in the next 15 mins, I was supposed to receive an email conf of this new flight info. Well, it was Christmas Eve, and Chris and I had a ton of things to do, including pack but also errands to run outside the house, so we went to run them and came back to NO EMAILS several hours later. SIGH! So Chris called and had a 1.5 hour convo with another girl. VERY LONG STORY, short....we got to Houston finally, but boy did I let Expedia know in a customer service survey later that I would not only tell everyone I knew about this but I would most certainly NEVER EVER use them again!
Anyways, we got to Houston and had a great time! My boys are SO BIG and grown up and precious now, and it was a BLAST just chatting with them, playing games and watching movies with them, playing b-ball, etc! It was so nice to catchup with mom and my sis and bro-in-law, and overall it was just a WONDERFUL time! But I'd say it just made me miss my boys that much more! :(
So, anyways, like I said, I have no pictures except for the day that us girls went to the pottery place and picked out and panted our own pottery....SO FUN! So here are those pics....

Hard at work

My final product

Crystal's S&P Shakers

Crystal's Final Product

Mom's Final Product
*Note: any pictures of her working were lost on Crystal's cam)

Me & My Big Sis :)

ps....

2011-02-04T17:50:00.003-07:00

Chris and I have had a 30 day trial to Netflix and have been watching ALOT of movies lately, since that is all I have had energy for most evenings. We've watched alot of good ones, but by far, so far, my absolutely fave has been The Other Guys.

Now this is PG-13 and does have some questionable scenes, and I would DEF not recommend you watch it with any kids, BUT I have not laughed this hard or this often through a movie in a long time!
Thanks for "listening!"
Holly the Movie Critic :)

Things...FINALLY!

2011-02-04T17:40:00.002-07:00

Hey Y'all! So, I again apologize for being a horrible blogger in 2011 so far. So here are my excuses that are mostly repeats from my previous blog:

*I am STILL SICK! When I wrote you before and said I was starting to feel better...well at the end of that week, I got sick again! I called a nurse who asked me lotsa questions, and she said it was just a cold and that I prolly caught another virus while I was getting over the 1st one. So, FOUR AND A HALF WEEKS later, I'm still nursing this stupid thing! This 2nd virus has definitely been worse than the 1st BUT i THINK that just maybe I am on the mend, though I am still trying to take it easy, get lotsa rest, drink lotsa fluids, etc. My 1st triumph, tho, came in the last 2 days. I have now gone over 48 hours with ANY kind of medicine (except one cough drop today)! Praise God for that! So, hopefully I am getting better and will be 100% SOON!

*My sis lost all the pics from Christmas so the only ones I have are of the pottery that we made, which I will post soon (I do plan on trying to blog more regularly, and when that happens, I'll go back to Christmas stuff since I have never written about it).

*Work is CRAZY, and I am busy ALL THE TIME! And once I get home, I have no desire to return emails, check facebook or any of that, because I am just exhausted. I do love my job still and am not complaining about being busy, but it is a huge adjustment from the past 2.5 years AND our 2nd support center is in Mass, so it's been crazier than usual as those hundreds of other reps that are normally on the phones helping us with calls have been very sporadically able to work with the gazillion inches of snow everyday they've been getting.

So, those are my excuses! :) Lord-willing, work will slow down a touch, I'll be back to "normal" sometime soon, and I'll start to better balance a busy work schedule with life and blogging!

Love you all! Talk to you again soon (hopefully)!

Sick!!!!!

2011-01-17T07:05:00.002-07:00

Sorry I have been sucha horrible blogger lately! Not only am I still waiting on even a single pic from my sis from Christmas, AND not only have I been soooooo busy at work (and do NOT think for even a sec that I'm complaining about that, because it is WONDERFUL to be busy and to actually use my brain every day), BUT the Wed after my 1st day at work, I got sick! :( And only today am I feeling somewhat normal again! I was still able to be at work and in training, so that is a huge blessing that I didn't have to miss anything, but with being wiped out after work every day and just being really busy while at work, I have barely even been able to keep up with emails and such.
So I just wanted to let you know that I am not ignoring you...I'll try to write more sometime soon, but I am LOVING my job...the ppl, the atmosphere, etc, and hopefully I'll have some Christmas pics to post at SOME point too!
Hope you're all having a wonderful, safe, healthy and blessed 2011 so far.
xoxoxo

First Day

2011-01-03T07:43:00.002-07:00

Will post some pics from our visit to TX once I get them from my sis, as I didn't take one single shot myself, but just wanted to say Happy New Year to everyone! How unbelievable that it's 2011, huh???? We got back into CO Wed night and woke up to the first "real" snow of the winter! It was beautiful AND it's still around because it has been SO COLD here...FINALLY! Needless to say, I was STOKED about the snow and esp about making it here JUST in time for it! Since then we've been exchanging Christmas gifts at diff stores and basically just lounging, which has been wonderful! We went to some friend's for NYE and had a great time playing games and chatting, BUT we both picked up a lil something while we were there, so Chris is REALLY fighting a yucky allergy, stomach, sinus thing, and luckily I just have a head cold. So, the real reason I am blogging today is.....

because in a lil less than an hour, I will be starting my first day at Constant Contact, and though I am a lil sad about not being at my old job, Visible Productions, to catch up with everyone after the holidays, I am SOOOOOOOOOO excited about this new adventure! Plus it was so exciting to think that today was going to be different and most likely BUSY, and I haven't had a busy working day in a LONG time! :) I'll train for the first 3 weeks, so I'm really excited to have that chance to get to now the company and all the other new ppl too! So, here goes nothing....

4 days & 6 working hours left...

2010-12-17T09:51:00.002-07:00

...until my time at Visible Productions will come to an end! Crazy, huh?

So I've had a lot of ppl ask me about my new job, and I thought I'd write a bit about it...
As I previously mentioned, I'll be doing Customer Support for Constant Contact. CC does event mktg, surveys and emails for small businesses, i.e. I get an email from my gym every month with news and health tips, and it is sent by CC. So, I'll be training for the 1st 3 weeks and then will just be answering phones and live chats about questions that our customers (the small businesses) have. It sounds as if I'll be busy almost all of the time, and one of the really cool things about CC is that they pay me for my 30 min lunch and for 2-15 min breaks, so I only end up actually being at work for 8 hours, instead of 9, with an hour long lunch.

CC is right across the street from my gym, too, so I am thinking I might be able to do a quick abs class some afternoons and/or go walk on the treadmill during my lunch sometimes. Which I am very excited about, because walking ALOT is definitely something I'll be giving up by leaving VP (where I sometimes walk as much as 3-4 miles in one day running errands)!!!

Besides the time off & gym fee benefits I mentioned previously, they also have a GREAT (and I mean FABULOUS) benefits package from health, dental and eye insurance to disability, tuition reimbursement, stock purchase programs (they're publicly traded and apparently doing very well-CTCT), and I could keep going and going and going. So, though I am taking a bit of a paycut, not only will I save BIG TIME in gas each week, but we'll be saving with insurance costs too!

Well, that's the 411, or some of it anyways, on the new job! I'll be starting Jan 3, 2011, so I will still get my originally scheduled paid vacation time from VP to go to TX (Houston) for Christmas next week too! SUCHA blessing!!!

IF I don't post again before then....hope you and yours have a wonderful Christmas filled with many, many laughs, fun times and blessings!!!! xoxo

Mom's Visit-Final Post

2010-12-16T12:15:00.004-07:00

So now that I have waited this long to finish posting about mom's visit, of course I have forgotten most of what I was going to tell you. But basically, we had an awesome time, doing alot of nothing and various things like eating out and going to the movies (which are both SERIOUS "treats" for Chris and I). And now, ALREADY, I get to see her again in NINE DAYS because we're going down to Houston for 4 days for Christmas! I am so excited about this!

So, you might have seen this on facebook already, BUT one of the kinda big things we did while mom was here was re-dye my hair, as it was lightening up very quickly (which defeats the whole purpose of going back to my natural color and having no upkeep costs). So...

and the final "product:"
href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CyzSK-0a0tw/TQpntTz6tHI/AAAAAAAACbo/8nmetdnPx8w/s1600/Us%2BStanding%2B2.jpg">

:)

New Mission Field

2010-12-15T11:16:00.002-07:00

Just so you know, I still have a few things to tell you about mom's visit, but there's some breaking news that I need to share now. And I'll go back for mom's visit a lil later...
After 2.5 years, the Lord has opened the door for me to work in a new mission field. I am leaving Visible Productions as of the new year and going to work at Constant Contact as a Customer Support Specialist! I am very excited about this new opp, BUT very sad as well. I have not liked my actual JOB for a while now, BUT I love where I work and who I work with. So, this will be a bittersweet transition but one that I believe will be good, especially long-term!
There are way to many benefits that CC offers to tell you about, but just a few BIG ONES are...it's 1.8 miles from home (i currently drive 30 minutes one way everyday), there's room to grow and move up into management and other areas of the company, it is going to pay 2/3 of my monthly gym dues, and as much paid time off as I had at VP (which I thought I'd NEVER find somewhere else), I actually start off with ONE MORE paid day off at CC (with the ability to get more the longer I work there).
Just had to share the news! Love you all! Have a great hump day!!!

Mom's Visit-Post #2

2010-12-10T08:12:00.002-07:00

So, after grabbing a Starbucks (compliments of mom...thanks, madre) in Denver's 16th Street Mall and walking around a bit down there, we headed a lil north to Hammond's Candy Factory. They give free tours, and for someone who loves the Food Network's "Unwrapped," I was PUMPED to see candy being made LIVE! :) I know I am a total dork, but seriously, I LOVE watching stuff being made. The tour was pretty quick and not too involved, but it was a really cool (and FREE) thing to do and very fun to see the process...

Waiting for the candy to cool a bit

After the candy has been stretched on the pulling machine...

The pulling machine was totally one of the coolest parts because it turned from that brown color you see when it's cooling to almost white. Unfortunately I didn't get a good picture of that, though. :(

Now he is rolling the striped piece around the almost white piece...this will eventually become a CANDY CANE! Cool, huh?

And just a random pic of the ribbon candy.

Ok, so I have to say that I am just beaming with pride after having two posts in a row with PICTURES! Hope you guys enjoyed them! Will post more about the rest of mom's visit next week! Have a blessed weekend!!! xoxo

Mom's Visit-Day One

2010-12-09T10:44:00.003-07:00

Sorry it has taken me so long to post about mom's visit! We had a GREAT time!
So, on Tuesday (the week of Thanksgiving), after picking mom up at the airport in the morning, we had some breakfast and then headed to downtown Denver. Before mom came, I had looked up some free stuff to do in Denver (yea for FREE), so we toured the Capitol Bldg first...

The Denver Capitol

Cannon Outside

Steps out Front marking the Mile above Sea Level

The View from the Steps-NICE!!!

Some steps inside the Capitol

I won't bore you with the pictures from the inside because we took alot, but overall it was something fun to do, that was free, and it was a beautiful day to be out and about in downtown Denver, just walking and chatting.

So, stayed tuned for more from Mom's Visit....

Craziness

2010-12-02T10:45:00.001-07:00

Sorry I have yet to put up pics from mom's visit. Alot happened, and we had a GREAT time, but work and life has been kinda crazy this week. So, I just wanted to say that I haven't forgotten about you and that I'll be posting stuff as soon as I have time.
Hope all of you had a GREAT Thanksgiving!
Talk to you soon!
xoxo

In 5.5 hours....

2010-11-22T11:25:00.000-07:00

I'll be done with work for a whole SEVEN days! woohoo Mom gets in early tomorrow morning, and we're planning a day of free tours and walking in downtown Denver, and then we'll just see what we end up doing past that! Just wanted to let you know I was going to be M.I.A. for several days, but HOPEFULLY when I check back in sometime next week, I'll have some pictures to share with you!
Have a WONDERFUL holiday! Hope each of you gets alot of relaxation and family time!

So excited

2010-11-18T10:07:00.002-07:00

Obviously I am getting more and more excited about mom's visit, as each day passes, BUT I am also excited about all the vacation I am getting to take (paid vacation, even) from now until the end of the year. Including today, I will only be working 21 days for the rest of 2010! How awesome is that? So, I will finish off this week; only work Monday of next week; have a 4 day week after Thanksgiving, followed by 2 full weeks of work (yuck...lol); and I will work 4 days the week before Christmas and have the entire last week of the year OFF!
I promise I'm not trying to rub it in for those of you that don't have jobs that offer as much paid time off; I'm simply so excited that I had to share it with you!
Thanks for listening!!!!! xoxoxo

Guess what happened today?

2010-11-16T11:26:00.002-07:00

So, yesterday I was talking to my mom, and though I should've realized that this would be the case, I found out that my sis and fam (who mom now lives with) are going to DFW for Thanksgiving next week. And since we have a split family on our side, and my sister's in-laws only have one extra bedroom, my mom wasn't going to be able to go. WHICH leaves her at home from Wed to Sun, ALL ALONE for the holiday!!!! :( So, of course, I was devastated when I heard this. Now, like I said, my sis has in-laws and my dad's side of the fam all in the metroplex, and since we're going to Houston for Christmas, which means they're staying there for us, I should've known this owuld be the case. But I just hadn't thought about ti til I talked to my mom yesterday! And now I am devastated for her! And she is openly a lil bummed about the whole thing. So, my hubby, as precious as he is, last night when I told him, decided we should try and figure out a way for her to come up here next week and be with us. So, we had his dad, who knows people within Frontier looking for buddy passes for her, but that would mean she was on standby. So, as Chris was telling his mom, Patti, about all this, she said we definiatley don't wnat her flying standby during such high traffic times, and she offered to buy mom's way to come up here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Isn't that awesome? I mean, do I have the best in-laws, or what? :) So, instead of being all alone, NOW, my mom is ocming here in ONE WEEK! AND staying until the following monday! woohoo

Just ad to share this wonderful blessing with you and praise my in-laws for being amazingly generous and thoughful!!! xoxoxo Happy Holidays!!!

Mr. & Mrs. Hill

2010-11-12T08:28:00.004-07:00

So, sadly, we were not able to make it down for the wedding of my college roommate, Kellye. BUT luckily, they came HERE to CO for their honeymoon. So we met them halfway (they honeymooned in Co Springs) in Denver for dinner last week. It was sooooo wonderful seeing them again, esp post-nuptials! They are precious and so cute (and a lil disgusting-lol), and we had the best time with them, as always. Thanks, guys, soooo much for coming up to meet us on your honeymoon! We love you and wish you all the best!
So, here are a few pics Kel took...

Halloween Party 2010

2010-10-29T08:27:00.004-07:00

My wonderful friend, Marysia (who's the BEST hostess EVER) put on another fun costume party this year. As usual, the camera I have is HORRIBLE, so I didn't take ALOT of pics due to frustration! But here are a few. Chris and I went as cowboy/cowgirl. We borrowed some stuff from his sis and bro-in-law and used some other stuff we had. These costumes are great cuz they're FREE! :) My fave, right? :)

My very own cowboy :)

My potluck/crockpot Halloween creation-lol

how precious are these kiddoes? you got your ladybug, your giraffe AND an elephant

doesn't Joey make a perfect carrot?

elvis has left the bldg...he's in the kitchen now

how hilarious is this? i LOVE this idea for a couple's costume

us

me & one of my fave lil girls, Mia (i mean Elmo)

so, plz ignore the beer drinking in this pic, but i was trying to get Patrick's costume, which is the Denver Buggets Bird Man (hilarious) and also Keith's, which is a member of the Taliban...be VERY afraid, people! haha

Can you believe it? I actually took and have now POSTED more than one picture! Hope you're not in complete shock, but also hope you don't get too use to it, either. Now that I have remembered how terrible my camera is, I might not get it out again for a very long time! :)

Hope you all have a GREAT weekend and a Happy Halloween! We have a long morning of a wedding in the morning, but we're praising Him for His constant provision of biz and money! xoxoxoxo

Jasmine

2010-10-21T13:45:00.003-07:00

So I am sure that at some point in the past 3 years I have posted something like this, BUT to be honest, I'm too lazy to go back and look at every last post. So, if this is repetitive I apologize...
I just had to show everyone what my dog does to her "babies." Our dog is WAY spoiled, esp since she is an only child and all, and from time to time we get her a "baby" which is basically a stuffed animal. And her one goal with that baby is to de-stuff it AND get its squeaker out as fast as possible. So, obviously we don't spend very much money on these babies, because Jasmine turns them into rags within a matter of minutes!
Anyways, since she is our only child, and everyone else who blogs posts pics of their children. Plus I thought maybe it'd bring a smile to your face today! Happy Thursday! God Bless!!!

Christmas

2010-10-13T09:25:00.002-07:00

So, I am not even sure if anyone even reads this blog anymore since I was sooooo terrible about being consistent for the past several months. But for any of you that stuck around, aren't you so proud of me for blogging so regularly lately? LOL! Though I still am HORRIBLE about taking and posting pics! maybe that'll be the next new leaf I turn over! Doubtful, but who knows!!! :)

Today I am thinking about Christmas and thought I'd pose a question to you guys...Chris and I have had "meager" Christmases pretty much since we have been married because of his employment situation. Though I am not complaining and as you all know, the Lord has blessed us immensely by constantly meeting our daily needs!!! However, having such Christmases has really changed my perspective on the holiday. I long for it to be more about Christ's birth, life and eventual sacrifice and resurrection and MUCH LESS about spending money and sometimes going into debt simply to fill the area under the Christmas tree. Now, I grew up with a much different kind of Christmas. I am totally NOT knocking my mom, but Christmases for us for about QUANTITY and time off and very. very lil about the Lord! So, my question to you is this....do any of you have ideas that you have heard of or that you practice yourselves that allows Christmas NOT to be about spending money? I ask this because both our families, though they do not intend to cause Chris and I stress or harm, still participate in the whole money-spending, gift-giving extravaganza. And i am NOT saying I am against this, because I LOVE giving gifts myself, but from our circumstances over the past few years, we simply have not had and do not have the money to spend on buying every single family member a gift. So I am wondering if nay of you know of any alternatives that would be appealing to our families. And also, another "issue" is that I have a lil sister, and Chris and I both have 2 nephews, and in years past when we haven't been able to give gifts to the adults in the family, we have still "had" to give gifts to the "kids." So do you have any ideas about that, as well?

Just curious to see what sorts of ideas might come out of this. Am just thinking of gifts I want to give already and am stressing over all those gifts adding up! You know?

Thanks for listening! In Him...

Long Weekend

2010-10-12T14:28:00.002-07:00

Hola! Hope everyone had a great weekend and is having a great week so far! I'm so excited that it's almost the end of the workday and tomorrow is already Wednesday! woohoo

So, one of the perks of my job is that I get FIVE WHOLE WEEKS of paid time off a year, and thus, even with taking a week off at Christmas, I still have some time I need to take, otherwise I lose it. And the past couple of weeks have been really busy and tiresome for Chris and I so we decided to take off 1.5 days at the end of last week. Granted it would've been awesome to get away, but since we're on a strict budget, we decided to have a lil stay-cation. Now, we did splurge a lil by doing things that we NEVER do like going to the movies and out to eat a couple of times. But overall, besides the fact that the Cowboys RUINED my weekend by not showing up to play on Sunday, it was a very nice time.

We started Thursday by taking Patti out for lunch for her bday. Then we came home and took a NAP, TOGETHER! Wow, was that nice! :) Then we decided at the last minute to go see a movie. So, at 8pm, which is usually nearing bedtime on a weekday, we headed off to see Wall Street 2. The movie was just okay, but Chris and I LOVE going to the movies, and LOVE eating the popcorn and having hot tamales!!! So even though the movie wasn't great, it was a fun time!

Then, without an alarm to wake us, we got up leisurely on Friday morning, had a yummy breakfast at IHOP and headed off on an excursion in the car. I dunno if any of you know this, but my husband is quite the adventurer/explorer, and he was dying to take some unknown roads through the mountains and see where they ended up! OH MY! AND guess what? In my old age, I have somehow developed a case of car sickness, so his exploring through scary mountain roads and my queasiness always make for interesting times. :) BUT I barely had any sickness for the 2 plus hours we drove around, and we had a good time just being together and seeing some different places in Colorado. have I mentioned how much I LOVE living here? It is breathtakingly beautiful!!!

So, then we got some yummy Tully's coffee (Krista if you are reading this I know you are dying of jealousy...there's a Tully's now in a King Soopers that is 15 minutes from us now)...well, I got chai, of course, ran a few errands and then played cards and had dinner with Chris' parents.

So, like I said, it was nothing spectacular or fancy, but boy was it nice to have some time off just to be together, with no time constraints and a lil splurging! :) Just thought I'd share, since for the most part, we're boring and there's usually not much to tell ya! lol

Love you! xoxo ~hol

Happy Birthday, Patti!

2010-10-07T07:17:00.003-07:00

So she might not love that I am making a big deal of this, BUT today my mother-in-law turns 52. And as I was praying over her this morning and praising God for another year, I realized the deep significance of her birthday this year. Though she is still recovering from her surgery, and her hair has yet to grow back more than an inch or so, and though she still has some procedures left until her breasts are "done," it is only by His grace and mercy that Patti is even here on earth to celebrate this 52nd birthday!

So, I just wanted to thank Him publicly for His healing hands that have helped Patti through this breast cancer journey these last several months! What a miracle that she is even here to celebrate 52! Thank you, Lord for your miracles, both big and small!!!

Happy Birthday, Patti!!! xoxoxo

Brunette

2010-10-04T09:53:00.004-07:00

So, as promised, in this post will FINALLY be ONE WHOLE PICTURE! I am so sorry, guys, I simply just do not even take my camera places anymore, even WHEN we do have something fun going on! :)

So, I have gone brunette. For the sake of saving money ONLY! I don't hate it, though I will say it is now more red than brown, which is just interesting and somewhat annoying, but hopefully it won't be for toooooo long! I know it's just hair, but I LOVE being a blonde. It just makes me feel summery, I guess. But, being blonde when you have pretty dark hair naturally is pretty costly to upkeep. So, here is your promised picture:

Kid's Hope

2010-09-30T11:50:00.002-07:00

Ok, so I must first apologize, as usual, for being so stinkin terrible about blogging. I promise I am going to try to be better and know that I will be at least for the next couple of weeks, because I have some things to say. And in lieu of saying them all in one long blog, I'm going to actually try and blog a few times over the next several weeks!!! So, hopefully this isn't a promise I end up having to break! :(

I just had to share with you guys something very cute...I'm not sure if any of you already know this, but Chris and I cannot have kids. And as sad as that is SOMEtimes, we both know we were supposed to be together especially because neither of us really had (or have) a huge desire to have children. So, obviously, as usual, the Lord knew what He was doing there!!! :) Anyways, one of those sad times is when I get to see Chris interact with kids, because he is AMAZING with them! I mean, seriosuly, he is sweet and patient and kind and loves to teach them things and how to play fair, etc, etc, etc!

All that being said, Chris has started volunterring at church with a ministry called Kid's Hope, where a bunch of people from our church mentor kids from a nearby school. They meet once a week for an hour and have been up and running this year for 3 weeks now. Chris' little guy's name is Jael, and the first time they met, they already had something in common...the TV show "River Monsters." oye! :) Ok, so anyways, I just got off the phone with Chris after his third week with Jael, and he said that Jael saw him coming and ran up to him and gave him a hug. And being that it is that time of the month, even typing that out brings tears to me eyes.

So, I just wanted to share this with you guys! I think it is so precious that the Lord is allowing Chris to be an influence and role model and buddy to this little guy, and if you ever think about it, please say a lil prayer for Jael and Chris' time together!

Love you all and hope all is well. Check back in soon, and I MIGHT even have a picture for you!!! :)

3 Years

2010-09-01T07:35:00.003-07:00

At this moment, 3 years ago, Chris and I were in the car with his parents, bro-in-law and 2 nephews somewhere in OK, STILL in the car after about 18 hours of driving.....on our way to be married!!!

That was a whirlwind, crazy weekend, and honestly I dont even remember that much of it (which I hear alot of brides say about their wedding day). But it was the day that I began the role that I'm convinced I was made for...the role of being a wife!

I was never that girl who planned her wedding and named her kids and dreamed of being married someday. Sure I had my moments, but for the most part, the things I wnated most outta life when I was young, were just that...things and money and a great career and a great condo in a big city somewhere and a huge closet with lotsa clothes and shoes, etc, etc! Honestly, if you've ever seen the movie 13 Going on 30...her life as a 30 yr old in NYC was EXACTLY what I always dreamed of. But luckily the Lord had different plans and sometime in college my dreams began to change a lil. They still didnt include marriage and kids and such very often, but I definitely didnt wanna be alone in NYC with alot of nice things and a great career anymore. Anyways, long story, short, I have no doubts about the course of my life leading up to 9/1/2007 as I look back now, because everything was leading me to and preparing me to meet and fall in love with Chris!

Now, it has been a HARD road, and honestly, coming from a broken family, I never had those surreal ideas of marriage being pure bliss all the time and something that was easy. But from the day I married Chris, I knew I was meant to be and made for being a wife and sharing my life with someone else, and I have loved every minute of it (even the ones where all I wanted to do was cry and kick my husband in the butt-haha)!

So, here is to my husband of three years...it feels like it has been a lot longer than 3 years, and it is truly hard to imagine that I have only known Chris for 3.5 years, because I feel like I have known him for a lifetime...but anyways...thank you, baby, for making me laugh, for taking out the trash, for cleaning the oven (which u know I hate to do), for being a master vacuumer and griller, for sharing your deepest and darkest secrets with me, for trusting me, and for loving me the way only YOU can do! I LOVE you and truly can't wait to go through the ups and downs of the next 3 years and 30 years! xoxoxoxoxoxo

UNBELIEVABLE

2010-08-16T10:35:00.002-07:00

The title is simply for lack of a better, more awesome word for Him! He truly makes it impossible to not believe in Him sometimes!!!

Just to give you a tiny idea of our lives right now...Chris and I are not sure how we will make it financially past next month. As it looks now, we will be through our Savings by the end of September! Now, I do NOT tell you this to make you feel sorry for us, but just to make you see how very big of a deal this is...I was just notified that I will be receiving a $0.50/hour raise. Not only is this HUGE, BUT the raise is also retroactive back to July 1st, so JUST when we needed a lil extra money the VERY MOST, the Lord provided this!

Just had tears in my eyes as I found out and wanted to share with all of you yet another example of His love and faithfulness in our lives! Chris and I have always felt peace about our seemingly-bleak financial situation, but He has always provided in the past AND especially now, we have faith He will continue to do so!

Love you all!!!!!!

We serve a God of miracles!

2010-08-16T07:36:00.002-07:00

Ok, so this morning I just had to give Him all the glory...on Sat eve, Chris did a wedding video. He went alone, because it was only a one-camera shoot. When he got home that night, I was in the middle of laundry, so I threw his pants he'd been wearing into the wash. I checked the front two pockets and then asked him if I needed to check the others, since they were cargo pants, and he said no. I have gotten into the habit of asking because we have washed several tubes of chapstick!!! Anyways, after the wash was done, and I was emptying everything into the dryer, I found a TAPE at the bottom of the washer! If you're making the connection....this was the tape of the ceremony he just filmed! Chris was devastated! I felt soooo horrible and was so mad at myself for not checking all the pockets in his pants anyways AND for rushing to get his pants in the laundry! Chris felt so stupid for leaving the tape in there and not remembering it! Anyways, the list of all the horrible things we felt goes on and on. BUT as soon as I found that tape and realized what it was, I started praying! And I encouraged Chris to do the same, even though it was very hard for him not to just be sooooo mad at himself! I also encouraged him to just leave the tape to dry overnight and just "deal" with it in the morning. So, we both prayed all night long, to the extent that once we turned the lights out, I could truly feel the Lord's presence in our bedroom! Yes, I prayed for a miracle that the tape would be okay, but I also prayed that if it wasn't, He'd give us both the peace and wisdom to know what to do and where to go from there. And as soon as I woke up that morning, I started praying! Then we both got up, had some coffee, etc, and our Father, the miracle worker, who cares about even the smallest things, like a wedding tape for Chris' biz, answered our prayers, and the tape is fine!!!!!!! I truly cannot express to you the joy and the unexplainable humility and love that comes over me even as I retell this story! I realize that there are people out there, even Christians, that'll say this was NOT a miracle but just luck and good fortune. And it's totally fine if you believe that, but I know with all of my heart, that the Lord worked a miracle in our lives and on our behalf that evening and that as we slept, He was restoring that tape! So, as I said, I simply had to give Him all the praise and glory and honor that is due Him, not only for this miracle that might seem small but was HUGE to us and Chris' biz and thus our livelihood, but because He loves each one of us so much that He even cares about such things, big and small, in our lives!
Sorry if I started rambling, and thx for hanging in there with me for yet another all-text post! Love you all and hope He works miracles (small and big) in your life this week!!!

Sorry!!!!

2010-08-02T15:39:00.003-07:00

I seriously have no idea where the month of July went, but I am so sorry that it has been over a month since my last post. Unfortunately I still do not have pictures to add to this post, either!!! :(

Just wanted to update you real quick on a couple of things...
I have my annual review at work on Thursday. I cannot believe I have been here for 2 whole years as of July...wow! I am liking it okay. Mostly, I am just happy to have a job in this horrible economy, and everyday I am trying to view my job more and more as my mission field. That change of attitude has definitely helped my perspective on having to go to work every day! Anyways, the past 2 reviews did not go all that well for me (i.e. last year is when they told me they were thinking about getting rid of my job or cutting my hours), so if you could just be praying over that time with my immediate boss, Veronica, over my feelings (and Chris') post-review - no matter what happens, and just for a peace during and leading up to the review.

In two weeks, Chris will have a wedding every weekend for 3 consecutive weeks! Other than that, though, the biz and all "extra" stuff he has done in the past is pretty slow, so you could definitely keep praying over this.

Patti is doing pretty good. She is down to ONE LAST CHEMO TREATMENT, which'll be next Wed - PRAISE GOD! And tho it looked bleak at first, this last half of treatments hasn't been TOO BAD. Her surgery is scheduled for Sept 21st and then she'll have several months of going back in every couple of months for the breast reconstruction. But as of about March or April of next year, she should be (Lord-willing) cancer-free and completely done with all of this and bad to "normal." As far as the gene thing goes, though, we really don't know much else, so nothing new has happned on that front with Jen or Chris.

I guess that is about it, for now. Thank you so much for bearing with me and my monthly (or less) posts and my pictureless, long posts!!!! I love you all so very much and am truly blessed to have people in my life who have a common love for the Lord and who I can count on to pray with me! PLEASE let me know how you're doing and what I can be praying for, specifically, for you!!!

Hol

Patti

2010-06-30T14:34:00.002-07:00

For those of you who are keeping up with Patti, my mother-in-law and her treatments for breast cancer, here is the latest...
She started round 5 of 8 chemo sessions today. The last half of chemo will be less meds but still just as many side effects, though the side effects do change with this half. Also, we just found out yesterday that this second half entails her being at the hospital for SIX hours every time (compared to about 2 for the first half-yikes!), so please be praying for her!
Thank you so much for all of your prayers, she can feel them and is drawing strength every day from them. She's so thankful and knows that MANY people, nationwide, are lifting her up!
Also, on that note, something else that needs prayer...Patti recently got back some test results that showed her to possess a gene that they are linking to the cancer. The good news is that after her chemo, they can take out all her "problem stuff" and she will have a 99% chance of cancer never returning! Praise God for that! The bad news is two-fold, though...that surgery will be a day-long process in which they'll remove both ovaries and both breasts and reconstruct the breasts, so that's a daunting surgery to think about, especially post-chemo. Secondly, because she has a GENE, that means that both Chris and his sister, Jenny, are more likely to get cancer themselves in the breasts, colon and ovaries (that one's just applicable to Jenn, obviously). So, please be praying over those tests for both of them and they have them run and just for wisdom in getting that whole process going.
That's it for now. Sorry for another all-words post, but I wanted to share all the details of what's going on with Patti, for those that have been asking and praying along the way!
And again, thank you soooooo much!!! xoxo

M.I.A.

2010-06-28T08:15:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone,
Well, I cannot even remember the last time I posted something on here, so I realize that I may be writing to myself because I lost any readers I did have. IF there is anyone else reading this, I do apologize for having been such a bad blogger the last couple of months. Honestly, they have flown by and some of the time has been pretty rough for various reasons, and so I simply have not been motivated to write anything.
But I am back now! :) I will say that, unfortunately, I am not back bearing pictures, so I also apologize for that. But, if you’re STILL interested, here’s what’s been going on with us…
Chris had his very first wedding of 2010 two weekends ago, and it went GREAT! It was a great setting, the pl were wonderful AND when Chris took the finished product by, the lady LOVED it, said she’d pass on his info to anyone she knew getting married and even gave him a tip! Praise God! AND THEN, this past weekend, he filmed a concert for a local band. AND he might be doing another band this coming weekend. So, we are so very thankful for His provision of business lately!!! It’s been so long since I wrote that I don’t think I have mentioned that Chris’ unemployment has finally run dry. We knew this would happen eventually and have been so thankful for the money that he HAS gotten from that over the last 1.5 years! But needless to say, I struggle everyday with just giving it ALL over to Him and trusting in His provision! I have good days and bad days where this is concerned but am really trying to bathe the issue in prayer, trust in Him and stand on His promises. I’ve really been clinging to Jeremiah 29:11 the past few weeks about Him having a plan for us, one that does not include harm and DOES include a hope and a future for us! AMEN, huh???? And boy has it been so evident in the provision of business for Chris!!!
So, other than that, we’re just doing the daily grind. Chris is on our church’s softball team, and they play every Thursday eve. The guys have a blast and are really good too! And us ladies/fans have a ball chatting and cheering them on! And it’s a great time outside of church to get to reconnect with church peeps!
Well, I suppose that is enough of an update for now. Don’t wanna bore you with too long of an all-words post right away! I promise I will try and take some pictures here and there so as to break up the different posts! :) Love you all very much and hope He is blessing and speaking to you every day! IN HIM!!! <><

Being Lazy

2010-05-28T11:37:00.003-07:00

So this past weekend, we went with Chris' fam down to the lake in New Mexico. We had a blast! I took lotsa pics but do not seem to have the patience to put them up one at a time here on my blog. SORRY! But as I was thinking about it, I realized that I cant think of a single person who reads my blog that isn't also my friend on facebook. So if you wanna see the pics, go to my facebook page and check them out! Seriously, I do apologize for being so very lazy and impatient!!!! yikes! :)

In other news, the Lord has truly been blessing us with His provision (as always)...Chris has been working Part-time quite a bit lately with the one restoration company AND he also has been getting quite a few phone calls about weddings and various other video jobs! So praise God for that! I'm just doing my thing here at my job and getting very excited for summer/warmer weather!

Thx for sticking by me as I have been so bad lately about blogging at all, and when I do, about not including pictures! Love you all very much! Happy Memorial Day to all of you!!!!

Things...

2010-05-07T07:25:00.002-07:00

Sorry it has been so long since my last post. Hopefully none of you were on the edge of your seat waiting to hear back about Chris' job stuff! :) He did not get the full time job, which is disappointing, however, I was a lil nervous about some aspects of the job anyways and was really praying over it. So I truly believe he didn't get it for a reason. No idea what that reason is, but the Lord is in control, and I have complete trust in that fact!!!

Chris has been doing quite a bit of part-time work for All Phase the past few weeks, so that has been very nice, and every week, he's been making more and more contacts about more weddings this summer. Other than that, I'm just working and doing the usual day-to-day stuff.

I will mention that thee years ago yesterday, Chris and I met for the very first time in person! :) Kinda cool to think about that. I even remember what we both ate at lunch and what we were both wearing! So awesome to look back to that day and see the Lord's hand in it and every day since then in our relationship!!!

I know this is a random post, but I will also mention that I get to meet one of my college roommate's fiancee tomorrow down in the Springs, and I am very excited about that.

So, other than that, not too much new is going on. Hope you have a wonderful weekend, and MAYBE one of these days, I'll actually have some pictures to post on here again! lol!
In His Love...

Praise the Lord!

2010-04-23T08:46:00.002-07:00

Just read Psalm 113, and it starts and ends with that phrase! And one of the verses talks about how He is to be praised all day long, from the time the sun comes out til it sets. So, I just thought that was an appropriate title for this post!

So, Chris has now booked two weddings for August, and we just wanna give Him all the praise and glory for this provision!!! We've both really been blanketing the biz in prayer lately and cannot give credit to anyone but Him for these bookings! So I just wanted to share that very good news with you!

AND also, Chris has a potential full-time job offer that might be coming in the next few days, so please join us in praying that the Lord's will be done in this and for discernment of whether to accept it or not, if it's offered to him. I will give you all the details later, if he does end up taking it!

That's it for today! Love you all so very much and will keep you posted on things! Thanks so much for your prayer support, your love and for caring enough to read all my blogs with NO PICTURES-lol! xoxo

Patti

2010-04-22T07:37:00.002-07:00

Some of you already know this, and some of you do not. I had previously shared this news with some people for prayer support, but it wasn't something that was being publicized to everyone in the beginning. That being said, Patti is my mother-in-law, and she is a wonderful one, lemme tell ya! :) And a lil over a month ago, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. And tons of ppl came outta the woodwork to pray for her, and the Lord was and has been VERY PRESENT throughout this whole process. She immediately had a lumpectomy, and has been recouping from that surgery for several weeks now. But now that she is healed, chemo and radiation are just around the corner. So, on Wednesday, she will have her first round of chemo. I believe this will be once a week for a few months and then, as of now, the plan is to do radiation every DAY for a few months. So, the rest of this year, though we're blessed that she is still HERE, is gonna be rough and long for Patti. So, could you all please join us in praying for this journey? And now that I have asked that, lemme just tell you how the Lord has been alive and active in this situation from the very beginning...

After several years of trying to lose weight, Patti, in just a very short time, easily shed 10 pounds, which the docs tell her probably led to an early detection of her lump. Also, the night before she verified the lump and went to her doctor, she suddenly woke up in the middle of the night with a sharp pain in her breast and made a note to check that in the morning, which obviously we believe was the Lord alerting. Patti has a personal relationship with her wonderful Gen Practitioner and was able to not only email her and ask about the lump, but the doc got her in right away to look at it. She was also able to get in for surgery just a lil over one week after finding the lump. The surgery was very successful, and not only did they get all of the cancer, but there was none in her lymph nodes, which would've been a very big and scary issue! Oh, and did I mention that we just happen to live near Denver where one of the world's leading c cancer centers is located! I mean, seriously, even in the midst of this horrible, scary thing, the Lord was and is working! Thank you, Father!

Ok, so that's just a tiny bit of what He's doing already in this situation. And my mother-in-law has been giving Him all the glory and leaning on Him completely! Praise God!!!

Anyways, sorry for all words and no pics in this post and in the past few posts. But thx so much for your love and prayers! Love and cherish each and everyone of you!!!

OUR GOD REIGNS!!!!! :)

Mom's Visit

2010-04-02T09:19:00.002-07:00

Well, the bad news is that, tho mom brought me a camera, we did not take a single picture! SORRY! But the good news is that we had a BLAST together (duh!)! We didn't do anything real exciting. We got haircuts, watched movies, organized and decorated at the house, played lotsa wii games, hung out, talked alot, ate some yummy food, laughed alot, etc! And it was, as usual, very hard to see her go! But I'm so thankful for the time that we had together, especially since in ONE WEEK, she will be moving to TX with my older sis and family, so I won't have the luxury of talking to mom as much as I'm used to. Tho I'm so excited that not only will they all finally be in one place (makes for much easier visiting), but I'm so thrilled to have mom not living alone anymore! So, that is a huge blessing!
Anyways, just wanted to update you on her visit...it was great, and of course I missed her the second she left! But we do have plans already to go to Houston for Christmas, which'll be the first Christmas I've gotten to spend with my side of the fam in 3 years! So, that's a blessing, as well.
Hope you're having a wonderful Good Friday and have a wonderful celebration of His rising on Sunday!
Lotsa love! xoxoxo

Mommy's Visit

2010-03-24T08:45:00.001-07:00

My mom is coming to visit for almost a week. She'll be here tonight and will leave next Wed morning! I'm very excited. Haven't seen her since last February! AND she's bringing me a camera, so just maybe, I'll have some pics to post of her visit sometime late next week.
Have a good one! xoxo

and the big gift is....drum roll, please.......

2010-03-18T10:35:00.005-07:00

Yes, people, I got a wii from my sis, nephews, and mom! Holy cow, I cannot even believe it! I have wanted a wii since they came out but have been completely unwilling to buy one for myself (you know, my ULTRA frugality, and all), and apparently, my youngest nephew Caden, decided back in December that THIS is what he wanted to get me for my big 3-0! How cute is that????

They also got me the wii fit...

Super Mario Bros game...

and Caden picked out a pink controller for me...a must-have, in his opinion...

And since Chris knew about this, he got me wii Fit Plus...

and the Biggest Loser game, too!

My goodness, whata present! I'm truly overwhelmed by this but so stinkin excited. In fact, last night was my first night with all of this, and I stayed up til after 10pm playing everything. And for those of you who know me well, THAT IS REALLY LATE for me!!! :) So, I have to say this was an amazing birthday...I also should tell you about the eve of my bday, too because Chris also got me a board game I have been wanting for years...

AND took me out to one of my fave places to eat...

yum! yum!

so what can i say besides i am blessed and way excited about finally having a wii! helps me deal with being 30 a lil bit better! :)

LOVE U ALL!!!!!

Only a few more hours of being 29....

2010-03-16T11:48:00.002-07:00

so as I have been telling everyone, I was born in TX at 5:37pm, so technically I am not, and thus will not be claiming 30 until 4:37 MST! But that is, sadly, less than 4 hours away at this point. But I'm still holding on strong!
I would totally post pics of my day so far, but my camera want caput (sp?) after Mexico, so I will just have to tell you about all my bday surprises, and you'll simply have to use your imagination.... :)
My wonderful girlfriends came up and surprised me at work this morning with balloons, cards, a Starbucks Chai (yummy) and some pumpkin bread (yummy!). And they sat and chatted for a bit. It was a WONDERFUL surprise, and I loved every minute of it....dont I have amazing friends???? :) AND shortly after they came by, I rec'd the most beautiful bouquet of flowers from my in-laws with a card that said, "to the most wonderful daughter-in-law any 2 ppl could have and wish for." Um, do i have amazing in-laws, or what?
So basically with all the love I've gotten on facebook and through these wonderful ppl in my life, the dreaded transition day has gone by very well, so far.
I will have to post later this week too because I'm told that I have some awesome gift coming from my whole fam and Chris on Thursday, so stay tuned...

Saying Goodbye to My Twenties!!! :(

2010-03-15T11:34:00.001-07:00

Well, it hasn't hit me just yet, so I'm not entirely sure how I'm feeling about turning 30 tomorrow, but I THINK I don't like it at all! :) Sigh!!!
However....though my 20's were GREAT in so many different ways...how amazing that now I will, Lord-willing, get to spend AN ENTIRE DECADE knowing and loving Chris! Thank you, Lord! So, at least in that respect, I'm very excited and thankful for this upcoming decade of life!

Last of the Mexico Pics

2010-03-09T09:41:00.005-07:00

So it's hard to believe that it was two whole weeks ago that we were in our lil dream world of Puerto Vallarta! Especially since I am literally STILL peeling, the LENGTH of both of my legs! But I do still have some sorta tan, for now! :)

So I just had a few more pics to share with you of our first night when we went to a town called Bucerias and ate dinner ON the beach (toes in sand and all), of Mon's night's Movie Night (we watched Mamma Mia which was OK, but it was the absolute best setting I have ever watched a movie in), and of us just playing in the water and such! Hope you enjoy! Soak up all the scenes and sun that you can form these, cuz as I said, they are SADLY the last ones!!!

Mas Mexican Pictures

2010-03-05T08:42:00.007-07:00

This is SO not in any order, but I did wanna show you what we left back here in CO when we were on our way to Mexico...

and then we arrived...

here...

Our hotel

Our rooms

...and THE BEACH!!!

Ok more to come later, but as you prolly know, it's really hard to put lotsa pics at once on blogspot. So...I promise to put more on later (hopefully today). xoxo

Mexican Pictures

2010-03-03T13:42:00.008-07:00

On Tuesday, we took our day trip to the remote island of Yelapa (only accessible by boat)

The boat's staff...these guys were HILARIOUS!!!!

We snorkeled here before riding on to Yelapa...

...Yelapa...isn't it beautiful?

a cool-looking "hut" on the way up to the waterfall

Yes, you can only reach this place by boat, but they DO have satellite tv service there, in case you were wondering-haha

Chris was stoked to play alot of beach volleyball everyday (and Justin played too)

...and water volleyball too

Our last night, we went to the Beach Party at the hotel...

The setup

the entertainment

pirate faces

....ok, so this was our trip in a very tiny nutshell. I will post some more pics later today or this week of the hotel and us just chilling on the beach and such! Hope you enjoy the "sights." xoxo

Back in the Saddle Again

2010-03-01T09:07:00.002-07:00

Well, I have quite the pile of papers to go thru here at work today, but I am still really going to try and get at least SOME of the Mexico pics on here today. But just in case I don't get to that, I just wanted to say that we're back. We had an amazing time....seriously, it was like living in a dream. The weather was perfect. We had a blast with our friends. We had no worries about calls, dogs, texts, emails, work, money or ANYTHING! It was the most wonderful vacation ever, and we're so blessed to have been able to go! So, hopefully pics will follow soon! Love you all!!!

Mexico, here we come!!!!

2010-02-19T08:21:00.002-07:00

So in TWO DAYS we will head to the airport to fly to Puerto Vallarta, and I am so stinkin' excited, I seriously can hardly contain myself! :) Anyways, just wanted to remind everyone that that's where we'll be for the next week, but come March, be looking for lotsa fun pics! Love you all, and please be praying for safe travels and for us to be lights to the friends we're going with!

Mexico Tour

2010-02-16T12:36:00.002-07:00

I just booked our (and prolly only) planned activity for Mexico! Check it out: https://www.vallarta-adventures.com/tours/yelapa
We're going on a catamaran, snorkeling, hiking to a waterfall and kayaking. Fun, huh? Gosh, I'm getting SO EXCITED! Only 5 more days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jazzy's VDay

2010-02-15T14:44:00.001-07:00

Can't believe I forgot to tell you about Jasmine's VDay weekend, too! She woke up to a brand, new baby to slaughter on Sat morning and was very excited!!! Here's a pic...sooooo cute!

VDay Cont'd

2010-02-15T08:57:00.007-07:00

So Friday we headed out to do a service project with our small group, but before we left I gave Chris his next VDay gift...

you can't see it all that well, but it's a collage of about 15 photos of the 2 of us from all the diff places we've been over the past 2.5 years. And tho I wouldn't normally give sucha thing to Chris, as all of you know, I'm seriously obsessed with cheap and free stuff, and this was totally free from Walgreen's! :)

Continuing on....Sat morning I woke up to this...

I got 12 beautiful pink roses, a very sweet card, some much-needed warm socks, and some yummy, nutty snacks. I LOVE how well my hubby knows me and what I like and need. He also got me a new watch band cuz mine broke, and I'm obsessed with my Iron Man watch, BUT come to find out I need a whole new watch because of the way my band broke. :( But anyways, didn't he do a wonderful job? He's sooooo darn cute! :)

So, I made Chris his fave breakfast, Dutch Baby, a family recipe (which I meant to take a picture of, cuz it's quite an interesting lil thing, but I forgot and it was gone in just a few minutes after I got it outta the oven) and then before we had his parents over for dinner and cards, I gave him his next gift...

these are his fave candies of all time. they're California brittle from see's candies, and i can only get them online. and lemme tell you, they are YUMMY! :)

and yesterday, as promised, i let him watch every last second of NASCAR coverage without a single moan or groan, and tonight we will finish off our long, celebratory weekend by eating at one of Chris' faves, Noodles & Co. YUM! YUM!

Hope you all had a wonderful VDay weekend, too! Love you!

St. Valentine's Weekend

2010-02-12T08:17:00.003-07:00

So generally I make quite a big deal about VDay to my husband because, though he is a wonderful hubby, he is not very romantic (which is something I knew before I married him). And the past 2 VDay's that we have had together, he has done a GREAT job. I mean GREAT! And, as usual, this year, I have been talking about VDay alot and going on and on about it so he wouldn't forget about it and would do something exciting again. BUT then I have been talking to a bunch of my girlfriends who are planning fun and romantic stuff for their hubbies for VDay, and I guess I was convicted about how selfish I was being about VDay being a time where only Chris needed to do something for ME! And obviously we do not have lotsa money to be doing anything really spectacular, but I do have a few lil things up my sleeve for the weekend. And so not to ruin any surprises, though I do not even think Chris knows the address of "our" blog or anything, I will only tell you the things I have already done and not the things to come. But I have a few LIL things planned throughout the entire weekend, and I am SO EXCITED to "reveal" them to Chris a lil at a time!
So, last night was the beginning of the celebratory weekend, and I gave Chris his VDay card and made him some of his fave cookies...the holiday ones from Pillsbury. He ate them up and LOVED it! And he even shared a few with me, too! hahaha

And this morning, he is off doing editing stuff at home, so I got his coffee ready to go for him, when he wakes up AND left him a lil postcard saying that he gets to enjoy a Nag-free weekend of NASCAR. You see, my hubby is a huge NASCAR fan (yuck, I know, but this, too is something I knew about him before I married him), and the silly sport of NASCAR always begins its new season over VDay weekend. So my biggest gift to Chris this weekend is that he gets to watch all the NASCAR he wants to, and I will not say a word about it!
Well, thanks for "listening" today, and I will fill you in on the other surprises later. I'm just so excited about getting to surprise Chris with a few lil things that I wanted to share it with SOMEONE! So, like I said, thanks for "listening!"
Happy VDay to all of you!!!!!!

1/3 of a Reunion

2010-02-11T10:05:00.003-07:00

So after almost 3 years (and many life events), Krista & I got to see each other again. So, I hadn't met either of her precious boys, and she had not yet met Chris. And actually no one that I lived with in Cali at Mission Year had met Chris, so it was very exciting for Krista to meet him! I also got to see Krista's youngest and newly married and expecting sis, Alisa and meet her hubby. So, though they have been and will be here all week for a Landscaping thing in Downtown Denver, we only got to see each other for 2 hours at dinner last night! But those 2 hours were amazing, and honestly, it felt like no time had passed at all since I last saw my lil dreamer!!! We met at the Rock Bottom Brewery and talked and talked and laughed and got to know everyone better and reminisced about the past, and well, it was a very short time, which was sad, but I am so thankful that we got the time together!!!! So, here are a few pics...
Krista, Justin, Spencer & sleeping Jackson

DeGroot & Bartlett clans

Spence's scowl, which we saw a lot of :)

Alisa, Miguel & Baby (coming soon) Rivera

Krista Lynn, I love you and cherish your friendship and am so thankful to be blessed with such wonderful friends who love the Lord! Thank you for coming to see me, and hopefully we can do it again sometime sooner than another 3 years! xoxoxoxo

Super Bowl

2010-02-08T14:33:00.004-07:00

Well, congrats to the Saints! I guess it's always good when someone who's never won, wins the big game! Obviously, I had no one to root for since my Cowboys got beat out in the second round by the stupid Vikings (hissssssss), but it was a pretty decent game anyways!

We went over to the Bauers house (we know them from church and LOVE them, and we went there last year for SB too) and had a great time! Anyways, I hope all of you had a great SB weekend, and here are some pics from ours...

Chris wrestling with the lil Bauers :)

It's hard to tell at times, but I THINK Chris won...

The Johnsons: Erica & Chad...

and Isaac chowing down...

and Isaac again, here he is training to be a Jedi Knight!

"Uncle" Rich & Isaac

(note: lotsa others not pictured including myself, our hosts and our other friends, The Storms...oops, i guess got a lil into the game...sorry!!!). :)

News....

2010-02-05T15:49:00.002-07:00

Hhhhmmmm, have you guessed it yet? Well, the above picture is one of the place Chris and I will be staying at when we go to Mexico from Feb 21-25!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now for those of you who know our current financial situation, do not be alarmed....no, we are not taking our savings and going to Mexico because we just got sick of saving and scrimping the past few years! :) The Lord blessed us with an amazing opportunity that we just could not pass up. Our friends from my job were already going to this Timeshare property in Puerto Vallarta and had an extra room, and it is Justin's (their names are Justin & TiAn) parents' timeshare, and they so graciously asked us to come along and stay for FREE! Yep, I said for free! wow! So, Chris and I have been putting back more money for this trip, and we hit an amazing airfare sale through Frontier, AND his parents paid for one of our plane tickets as our birthday presents. wow! Are we so blessed, or what? So anyways, we get to go to Mexico and FINALLY have a honeymoon (sorta). For those of you who don't know, Chris and I met and got married in a matter of 4 months and never got to take a honeymoon. And every year, we looked at trips, but every year, we decided it just wasn't wise to spend money on something so extravagant at that point. But now, for a very small price, we actually get to take a vacation together, on the beach, away from work, the house, etc. And we are so excited! But we also just wanna give all the glory and praise to Him for providing this opportunity.
So that's the news....I told you it was exciting, huh? :) So now that you know that, I do have a couple prayer requests related to Mexico...the first is obvious and is for safety during our trip. The second is that He would use us in our relationships with Justin & TiAn. These are great, fun, kind people, but they do not know the Lord, so my prayer is that He would use us to show Him to them.
Ok, people, that's it for this post! Hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Oh, and oh my goodness, speaking of the weekend, I totally forgot to tell you that Chris got his very first video job for the year tonight. he will be taping a concert up in Ft Colllins tonight, and I am soooooo excited that this has broken open that door for more business, hopefully! But you can pray for me, because I have to go a whole Friday night without my hubby tonight! ;) Ok, NOW I'm really done! Love you all!!!!!

Job Stuff

2010-02-03T09:02:00.002-07:00

Happy Hump Day everyone! So, as you can tell, I'm still not in the phase of regularly blogging again, and mostly that is due to the fact that our days have just been pretty busy and there's just not much to tell. I will tell ya, though, that Chris ended up taking a part-time position with All Phase and has continued to work for them pretty much 40+ hours per week. It's such a blessing because now he has more of a regular income AND he even has a small life insurance policy through them, too! So, thank you, Lord AGAIN and as always, for your constant provisions!

He has still had NADA going on through the biz and more and more we are both just questioning where to go from here as far as the biz is concerned. We're just praying for guidance there!

Also, I'm happy to report that one of my best friends in the whole world, Krista, who I spent a year with in inner-city Oakland after college, is, Lord-willing, going to be able to come to Denver next week with her hubby and 2 kids (neither of whom I have yet met). So, I am just thanking the Lord for that time...I cannot wait t0 see her, AND she will be the very first person of my 5 roommies from Cali that gets to meet Chris, FINALLY! So, I am really looking fwd to that special time next week! And hopefully we will take lotsa pics and I can post them later!

So, just to end with a cliffhanger...heehee...I have some exciting news to tell you but did not wanna do it this post. So stay tuned for that! Oh, and as much as I would like to let your minds run wild with the possibilities, I WILL say, that No, the news has nothing to do with a baby! :) LOL!

Lately...

2010-01-20T14:58:00.003-07:00

Sorry it has been a while. I truly do go in spurts as far as blogging goes, and I simply have not been in the mood the past couple of weeks! :)
Things in the DeGroot household have been great but very busy! From hanging out with friends, to having people over for dinner, to church and small group stuff, to Chris working (I'll get to that in a second), we have had very lil down time. But it's been a great start to 2010, and we are very blessed.
So, I'll start with the Bridal Fair. We got no contracts on the day of, but I'd still say it went very well. We handed out a TON of brochures, and talked to alot of people. The traffic was great! But we haven't had any calls from the show as of yet. And we haven't had the time to do any sort of follow-up marketing to the 300 brides that came and signed up. And that is due to the fact that Chris has started sub-contracting for a restoration company here, called All Phase Restoration. I cannot remember if I have previously mentioned AP because Chris worked a lil bit for them before the end of 2009, and it is owned by two of our couple friends. But as of 2010, he has basically been working full time, and more depending on the week and their needs. So, that has been a HUGE blessing! Not only because Chris LOVES the people and working with his hands, but obviously the money is HUGE too!
I think that about catches you up with things here in NoCo (Northern Colorado). I will end with some pic...love you guys!!!

Me and Kelley Mauck @ Nuggets game
(Bob and Kel got tickets for the Cavs game
and asked us to come along...it was a blast)

Shaq and the Cavs

Our booth at the Bridal Fair

One More Thing

2010-01-07T10:54:00.001-07:00

Forgot to give glory to the Lord for His continual provision. Though it is a small one, I got a raise at work starting 1/1. It's funny how every time He provides for us, I'm surprised. But I suppose that is part of the gift, as well. Thank you, Father for how you never leave or forsake us and how you always provide for even our most basic needs!

Bridal Fair

2010-01-07T10:23:00.002-07:00

So I know this is my first post of the New Year, and I should be telling you all about our holidays and sharing lotsa pics. BUT I did that for Christmas already and to be quite honest, we didn't do much after that, especially anything that involved picture-taking! :) We did have a great long, 5 day weekend together last weekend and got lotsa stuff done around the house and slept late and just hungout alot. So it was a great way to usher in the new year (tho i will share that Chris and I only made it to 11:15pm on 12/31/09, being the old, married couple that we are-haha)!

Biggest thing going on now that 2010 is in full swing is a very big and important Bridal Fair this Sun from 12-4pm. It's going to be a very big fair with way more traffic than any previous one we've done so far. So if you think about it and could say a quick prayer over this fair, that'd be SO WONDERFUL! We're so excited about the possibilities, BUT personally, I am very nervous about the whole thing. These are quite outta my comfort zone as it is AND I feel like this, and how it goes, will be very telling of what kind of year the biz is going to have AND if Chris will be able to do the biz stuff full time or not.

Love you all very much and will keep you posted on how it went and other things of 2010 as they come up!!! :)

Christmas 2009

2009-12-29T12:44:00.005-07:00

We spent Christmas Eve at Chris' parents' house with them, Chris' sister and her family, and her in-laws. We met up with them after our church's Christmas Eve service. We had a GREAT meal of homemade enchiladas and then went home to get some sleep before Christmas morning's festivities. As I said on my facebook where I already posted the following pictures, Chris and his family are rubbing off on me, and though it was CHRISTMAS DAY, I didn't manage to take very many pictures at all. Hope you enjoy them, and hope you all had a wonderful Christmas with your families! Happy New Year!!!

Texas Trip, The Finale (heehee)

2009-12-23T10:37:00.005-07:00

At the basketball game...KK got to sit "on" the bench, can you see him behind dad???? :) so cute!

He also got to be the ball boy...

Lunch pics...me & autumn

Autumn and the boys

Me & KK

Visit with Kel, college roommie

Fam pics before church....

Coffee with Melissa (who is newly married) :)

So we stayed with my dad the rest of our time in TX and on Sat, we went to one of his High School b-ball games with the Bolding clan, then to lunch and then we went and met one of my old college roommates for some coffee and a quick catch up. Sunday we went to church with dad and co at the Burleson Church of Christ, had lunch and then headed to have coffee with another one of my old college buddies. And THEN, seeing as we were SOOOO tired from being up late and "fitting everyone in," we went back to dad's and just relaxed. And we "got" to get up at 4 in the morning on Monday to leave for the airport to return home. We had a wonderful trip, but we were excited also to get back home and back into our daily routines. Following are the rest of the pics from our trip. I hope you enjoyed the posts (all 50 of them-haha), and I also wish everyone of you a Very Merry Christmas! MAYBE I will "be back on" and post some things on Monday! xoxo

....ps.....if you didnt see it, there is another post below this one from today as well, so scroll on down

Friday, cont'd

2009-12-23T10:24:00.003-07:00

After we spent what ended up being the whole day in Arlington for the tour, we finally headed down to Weatherford (where I grew up and where my paternal grandparents still live) to meet up with my dad's side of the fam. We ate at Chili's and then hung out at Grandmother & Granddaddy's for a bit afterwards.

Me and my dad's parents...they're SOOOO cute!!!

My two aunts and uncles and my cousin, Jill (who you can't see) along with Crystal and her fam and my grandparents at their house...

Granddaddy and their spoiled, rotten dog! :)

***So since I'm about to be off for 4 full days, and since I should have some fun Christmas pics when I do get back in the office on Monday, I'm going to just be posted all the rest of the posts from our TX trip today. So stay tuned....... :)

More Pics from Cowboys Stadium Tour

2009-12-22T14:49:00.005-07:00

One of the club levels, how cool are these lights...

One of the suites

Cotton Bowl offices

View from end zone, look hard and between the roller coaster and the Ballpark, you can see Texas Stadium-wow!

Putting down turf for Baylor/TX Tech game...

The Locker Room

Where the Cowboys walk into the stadium (and ppl with LOTS of money to have these field-level suites get to watch them!!!!

That's it! I decided not to put ALL my pics on here so as to bore my friends that aren't Cowboys fans! :) If you're reading this post first, be sure to scroll down to the next post, which I posted earlier this morning and is the prequel to this one! :) I will post some fam pics from Friday night's eve with my dad's side of the fam tomorrow!

Friday, November 27th...TOUR DAY

2009-12-22T09:59:00.007-07:00

So we said goodbye to Chris' parents, and they headed back towards CO. And we geared up for the big Cowboys Stadium tour. When we pulled up, however, there was a MONSTROUS line, and everyone in line was saying that it'll take about 3 hours IN LINE before we could take the tour. Luckily we didn't have much else set in stone for that day, so we settled in, my sis and her fam joined us, and we waited, and waited, and waited, and you get the drift.
At first it seemed there was no way it was gonna take 3 hours because you get inside really quickly, but the long part of the line is inside and goes very slowly through the Pro Shop (my goodness, Jerry Jones truly is a genius, huh?)! It didn't SEEM like 3 hours, but we timed it, and sure enough it was just under 3 hours when we FINALLY got to begin the tour. We did have a few things that took up some time while waiting, like our tattoos...

and browsing through all the great things in the Pro Shop...

It's funny cuz once we got to the tour, we still had to wait for other tours to get far enough ahead of us, so in another stroke of money-making genius, Jerry Jones has the concession stands open while we wait...

And FINALLY, the tour began...

The post-game conference room

Storage for the many different turf looks

Coby trying to drive away on an official golf cart :)

Ok, I am having difficulties with blogspot today, so I will come back on a lil later and post more pics of the tour...I have ALOT of them, so stay tuned!!! :)

Dunno what to title this

2009-12-18T15:13:00.002-07:00

Was just going to let you know that those of you that are on the edge of your seat waiting to see pics of and hear stories about our tour of Cowboys Stadium will just have to wait until next week. SORRY!!! But I love you all, hope you have a wonderful weekend, and I'll be back here on Monday!
xoxo

Game Day

2009-12-17T16:09:00.006-07:00

Sorry everyone. Somehow I completely forgot to post yesterday! So, on with the story... :)

Thursday morning we got up, got dressed and headed over to the stadium. A side note that funny enough, the motel we stayed at was older, and in the mornings wasn't quite equipped for warm water for all of its guests. We stayed here Wed and Thurs nights, so for those 2 days, Chris took no shower (yuck, i know), and I took COLD, but very quick ones! haha Anyways...the stadium is too awesome and enormous for words, so I am going to let pics do the talking to cap this post off. I will say that it was a great day, a dream come true to get to go to a Thanksgiving Day game FINALLY, and thank goodness my Boys won! woohoo Also, you'll see pics of some players getting out of their cars in the mix....the stadium has it where all of the Cowboys drive their cars to this blocked off area before the games and get out, valet-style, and then have this grand walk into the stadium amongst lotsa blcoked off fans. We didnt see any of the big wogs, but saw the tail end of Crayton and Choice AND Chris totally shook hands with Jason Garrett! :) Enjoy, and tomorrow you'll see even more pics of the stadium cuz that's the day we toured it with my sis, bro-in-law and 2 nephews!

Wednesday, cont'd

2009-12-15T10:31:00.004-07:00

After leaving Abilene, we headed to Weatherford, where we picked up a car that one of my wonderful friends, Steph, let us borrow while we were in town. Then we went to have dinner with my 2 best friends from High School and their hubbies and sons.
Amanda and Holly and I have been friends for a LONG time now, and it has been so cool to see how the Lord has come into each of our lives and blessed us all with great husbands and families! I have met Ben and Dave, their hubbies many times before but had yet to meet their 2 little ones, Miles and Parker. And since we got there really close to Miles' bedtime (Amanda's lil one), I did NOT get a pic of him at all. But just take my work for it, he is PRECIOUS! But Parker, Holly's son, is apparently like his momma and likes to stay up late, so he stayed up late into the night with all of us, and lemme tell you, we hit it off! He is so much like both of his parents, and it was precious to see those characteristics in him.
Here are some pics...
Parker...i told u he was precious!

Us girls (now I'm the blonde one)...

Us with Parker...

And of course, my hubby had to get what he likes to call "an action shot"...

It was WONDERFUL catching up with them and meeting their boys! I'm so blessed to have such great friends that still make an effort to keep in touch even after 11 years (yikes that makes me feel old to say that)! :) And after our late night with them, we headed to our motel in Arlington to get some rest before the BIG GAME! Which you will hear about tomorrow! :) xoxo

Wednesday

2009-12-14T13:05:00.003-07:00

The morning began with a lil work on the car (heehee)...

Then we left Lubbock and headed to Abilene to meet my friend Allison and David Connor, and their new, precious lil girl, Gentry! Now, it would be really nice to put a pic here of all 5 of us, but somehow we spent about an hour having lunch together and meeting Gentry, and we managed NOT to get a single picture! ARGH! But it was great to see the, and we had some great TX BBQ at Sharon Allen's, and then we headed to ACU to see the campus. I was so excited to show Chris where I went to college, and I was so excited for me because it's been a few years since I last visited ACU, and I have heard that they have made a ton of changes! So, we pull up to the new and amazing Welcome Center, get outta the car, and walk up to the door......only to find the silly thing locked. Later I learned that apparently now that I'm not in school anymore, they all of a sudden get the Wed before Thanksgiving OFF....yes, the WHOLE campus! ARGH! So anyways, it was still fun to introduce Chris to the campus from the outside of all the buildings and from peeking through a bunch of windows. Here are some pics...

View from Labyrinth and fountain of the front of the Welcome Center

The Labyrinth

The fountain

Jacob's Ladder sculpture

So, I KNOW I was suppose to do one day per post, BUT this has already been kinda long, and it IS Monday, so.....I'm going to do the rest of Wednesday tomorrow! Love you all!!!!

Until then....

Carlsbad Caverns

2009-12-10T08:09:00.005-07:00

So, on Tuesday morning, we got up and headed out from Conchas, NM. And about lunchtime, we arrived at the caverns. The tour was a couple of hours long, and we started out by walking down into the caverns...

View from the bottom, when you can still see the light...

Us @ the entrance...

A warning sign (nice, huh?)...

God's sense of humor (can u see it? heehee)...

Called "lion's tail"...

"Whale's Mouth"...

Popcorn...

Bill, Patti & Chris...

We had a GREAT time at the caverns! They were so cool and so neat, and it's so fun to go to places like this and see amazing things that the Lord made. Of course, Chris, my adventurer husband, wants to go back and go spelunking and exploring alot more. BUT we all had a good time here, and it was a nice (and fairly inexpensive) detour.

After the caverns, we headed to Lubbock, TX for the night, before going on through Abilene and on to the metroplex, which you'll hear all about tomorrow! :)

Overwhelming

2009-12-09T12:16:00.007-07:00

Sorry it's taken me soooo long to post anything about our trip. Honestly, it was a lil daunting at first to think about how long it was going to take to tell you about our trip and to show all of the pics. So, I think what I will do, and I stole this from Chels, is tell you about each day separately. That way, it's less daunting for me, AND you have the incredible joy of reading new posts everyday! :) heehee

So, we left for NM on Sun, 11/22 and drove to Chris' parents place...
While there, since it was too cold to take the boat out, for a lil bit of entertainment (besides playing Peaknuckle and driving the golf carts around

we went out and shot Bill's gun for a while...

(this is the guys looking at the piece of wood to see where in the world all their shots went-haha)

We stayed in Conchas for 2 nights, then headed to Carlsbad, NM on Tuesday morning (which you will hear about in tomorrow's post) :)

Vacation

2009-11-19T08:12:00.003-07:00

So, today is one of two working days that I have left until I will be off for TEN WHOLE DAYS IN A ROW!!!!!! And let me tell you how very ready for a vacation I am! So, I was just going to let you all know that I will not be posting anything for prolly about 2 weeks! BUT in 2 weeks or so, I should, hopefully have a ton of pictures and stories to share with you about our trip.

I'm not sure if I've even mentioned this trip before (sorry, I am so bad about not re-reading my previous posts before posting a new one). So, here's the plan....this Sunday we will leave with Chris' parents to go down to their property in NM for 2 nights. Then, on Tues morn, we'll get up, drive to the Carlsbad Caverns and spend a few hours and then drive to Lubbock to stay the night. Wed, we will go thru Abilene (which I'm esp excited about cuz Chris will get to see where I went to school, and I'll get to see the tons of changes they've made on campus since I last was there a few years ago) and then head east. We're staying right across the Interstate from the new Cowboys Stadium on Wed and Thurs nights and going to the Raider/Cowboy game on Thanksgiving Day (which has been a dream of mine for years now)! Then the in-laws will start their drive back to CO on Fri morn while we stay behind in TX to visit with friends and family. On Fri, we'll be touring the stadium with my older sis and her fam (who I haven't seen in over a year!!!!) and then we're spending some time with dad's side of the fam. I'll be meeting up with at least 2 of my other friends over the weekend, and then we'll be flying back on Monday morn.

I can't tell you how excited I am about this trip AND how the Lord has worked so many blessings into this trip already. As you know, we are VERY LOW on money right now so a vacation seems quite ridiculous! However, we are blessed that Chris' parents are driving and paying for all of the motels along the way; we have a friend that is loaning us her car for when we get to DFW; we're having a free meal with my best friends from HS on Wed night; we're staying with some wonderful friends of ours in Joshua who are GRACIOUS and wonderful hosts; and my dad paid for the tickets for us to fly back so we'd have some extra time with the fam! Isn't it wonderful how He provides, even for a time of relaxation and to be with friends and family???? Thank you, Father!!!!

So, hopefully, I'll have tons of posts and pics coming your way in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, please pray for our safe travel.

Have a BLESSED Thanksgiving holiday! We love and appreciate each one of you!!!!

Weekend

2009-11-09T16:03:00.002-07:00

We had a GREAT weekend of waking up without an alarm clock and just relaxing and hanging with friends. Plus it was topped off by a very nice performance by my Cowboys, who are now in sole possession of first place in their division-woooohooooo! :)
We did spend the big bucks to go see The Stepfather at the $2 theater on Sat. It was decent, and honestly it was just so nice to actually get out and spend a tiny bit of money! Course we watched football all weekend and got together with our wonderful small group last night.
This week Chris has a hockey game, and we're hoping to go climbing at our gym that we do not take advantage of enough. And I get to play BUNCO with the girls on Friday night-so fun! Besides that personal stuff, Chris has a couple "meetings" for work stuff and will be sitting down with his mom this week to possibly start working with her in her "moving freight biz" to make some extra cash. That's in italics cuz I still have no idea what EXACTLY it is that she does! :)
Oh and one final and very exciting thing to blog about.....Lord-willing, on Thursday, we will have a full condo of ALL NEW CARPET! It seems as though our fiasco with our silly mgmt/hoa ppl has finally come to an end-whew! Seriously, it seems so silly to think that the Lord would care about something so trivial as carpet, but I have NO DOUBT that this is His doing and an answered prayer straight from Him. Thank you, father for caring about even the little, seemingly silly things in our lives!
I will end with a hilarious pic of our baby girl, posing for the camera!!!! :)
Love you all very much! Have a blessed week!

Where did 17 whole days go?

2009-10-30T09:07:00.003-07:00

Sorry for not having posted anything in 2.5 weeks! Goodness, I have no idea where that time went! :) Course not too much is going on with us that's new, so there hasn't been a whole lot to update you on. CO had a huge snow storm that began on Tues night and finally ended yesterday, and I have a couple pics of the post-storm piles at the end of this. Getting to and from work on Wed was a lil scary and tricky, so I took a Snow Day on Thursday and stayed home with the hubby. Who, btw, is getting sick. Luckily, he doesn't have a fever or other flu symptoms at the moment, so hopefully he just has a sinus/cold thing going on.
Last weekend, we did go to a Middle School hangout time with the youth group from our church. It was a blast! Chris also had his last football game (that he videos) last weekend, so this weekend, we're looking forward to not doing much, for once!
Hope you all have a good one! Love you! Here are the pics I took on my way to the garage this morning...

Just a few recent pics...

2009-10-13T08:58:00.002-07:00

For most of the weekend, we stayed inside, and Jazzy cuddled up on the couch with us (or I guess you could say she hogged the couch while we tried to squeeze in next to her most of the weekend). But seriously, how cute is this? And how could we possibly say no to THIS face?????

We celebrated my mother-in-law, Patti's birthday (# 35, if i remember right...wink! wink!) on Saturday, but I only got a few pics. My married-family doesn't seem to like pics very much! :( But still, I managed to sneak a couple...here are the boys (with their cousin in the background) and one of Patti's apple cobbler "birthday cake." :)

And this is what we drove home in on Saturday night-bbbbbbbrrrrrrrr!!!!!

Things

2009-10-02T08:36:00.002-07:00

Just wanted to update you on a few comings and goings of the DeGroots! And also, be sure to read past this post for some pics...
Chris has been quite busy with biz stuff. He's got quite a few irons in the fire, some of which are actually even bringing in money, so that has been a real blessing. Currently, he's planning to do a Christmas Program for a school in Dec, possibly a dance recital for a different school in Nov, some 3rd grade football games on Saturday mornings, possibly a commercial DVD for a friend of ours, some different videos for a Restoration Company (owned by friends of ours), and every Sunday night he is filming Metal Sundays at a venue nearby for a bunch of different musicians. We have no idea how successful any of these things will be just yet, but we are SO VERY THANKFUL for these opportunities the Lord is providing and are praying over their success and fruitfulness everyday.
The pics that follow are from last weekend. The first are from the Women of Faith Conference in Denver. My wonderful and most generous mother-in-law paid my way to go with her, my sis-in-law and some other women from their church. She also treated to dinner AND a hotel room! Amazing, huh? And let me tell you, it was a GREAT time, not only to connect with them, but also just to be refreshed and re-convicted of things. I also had the pleasure of reconnecting with an old friend from an old church, which was a very wonderful surprise!
So that was Fri and Sat and then on Sun we went to a housewarming party for our friends' new, gorgeous house. Kel and Bob just built this beautiful house in Windsor and had a bunch of us over to watch the Raiders/Broncos game in their new basement theater room. It was so much fun, even though the poor Raiders did look awful, and my poor hubby was thus quite heart-broken! But it was a great time with friends, which we are so blessed to have!
So, I think that does it for now for updates. Hope you have a wonderful weekend! Lotsa Love!

Women of Faith

2009-10-02T08:33:00.000-07:00

Mauck Housewarming Party-Broncos vs Raiders

2009-10-02T08:30:00.001-07:00

New Water Heater

2009-09-24T07:38:00.003-07:00

Boy do I LOVE having a handy hubby and father-in-law!!! Last night Bill came over. They both went to Home Depot, purchased a new water heater, and had it installed within a few minutes! WOW! AND, they found a cheaper one than we'd been able to find online, so hopefully, in the end, this won't have cost us a thing, because Rheem SHOULD reimburse us for it (in time, at least).
Things like this are so funny to me. I really never thought I'd marry a "handy man." My mom and sis were always the handy ones in their households, and since I grew up with mom doing all of the handy stuff for me, I never got the "handy" trait...good grief, I can't even sew a button! But, I am so thankful that the Lord matched me with Chris. Yes, he is a perfect match in the "handy department," but he is my perfect match in so many other ways, too! Thank you, Father, for my wonderful hubby!!!!
So, one "problem" down, and one to go. :) Of course, no calls were returned yesterday by our mgmt company, so we will wait and see....

Things

2009-09-23T10:09:00.004-07:00

You know the old saying, "when it rains, it pours?" Well, right now I feel like I'm stuck in a huge down pour! I can't remember how much I have previously shared about all our carpet woes (following the flood that came from a busted pipe in the condo diagonally above us), but we got a call yesterday from the head guy at the Restoration Co that's been in charge of fixing the walls and carpet from all that whole mess. We called him, oh, about 2 weeks ago, because the line in the MIDDLE of our hallway where old carpet meets new carpet looks AWFUL, even after they came and cleaned the old carpet (which they SWORE would make the line virtually invisible). So yesterday he tells Chris that now that he looks at all paperwork from the insurance co, he sees that they only put in that they'd cover cleaning ALL of the carpet (aka the Restoration Co was SUPPOSE to just come in and dry and clean the soaked carpet, and that is ALL they would cover). So, WHO KNOWS what this'll mean in the long run, but I guess I am just venting. So to add to that mess, yesterday our water heater started leaking, and it sounds like we're going to have to have it replaced. Luckily, it's still under warranty, HOWEVER, Chris called today about that, and the warranty only cover $285 towards a new one, and as he looks around they're running about $350, AND of course, any plumber we use is going to charge who knows what in labor to put it in. SIGH! So, anyways, sorry to post such a down-in-the dumps message, but it's just what happens to be going on in our lives right now. HOWEVER, we still recognize how very blessed we are in so many ways, and how easy all of this silly stuff is compared to what others face all the time! So we are thankful for that and are trying to keep that in the forefront of our minds, along with the reminder that we're His children and His spokespeople here on earth as we "deal" with all of these sometimes very rude and annoying people!

So as to make this not a completely somber post, here are some pics of a wedding we recently got to ATTEND and of Chris' football-watching attire from Sunday night! :) Love you all so very much! xoxoxo

You know you're dog is spoiled when.....

2009-09-15T07:13:00.003-07:00

your husband takes an umbrella out in the rain to allow her to do her business...

LOL! Isn't that TOO CUTE and ridiculous all at the same time? :) So, we had a very nice, relaxing weekend. It's the first weekend we haven't had filming in a long time, and though we appreciate and very much so need the money, it was SOOOOOOO wonderful to NOT have to work for a change! :) And speaking of the biz side of things, Chris has some new endeavors that could possibly turn into more and more, so PRAISE GOD for that! Other than that, we're doing pretty good and both VERY PUMPED that football season has FINALLY arrived! :)

The Twilight Zone

2009-09-09T08:01:00.002-07:00

So, for those of you who follow me on facebook, you probably have already seen that I am reading the Twilight books by Stephenie Meyer (sp?). So, since I started them last Wednesday, I have pretty much been in the "twilight zone." These books are so addicting, it's ridiculous, but I am LOVING them and have had a very hard time putting them down. I only have about 300 pages left in the last book, so after that I will try to reclaim my normal life, but for now, that is what I am doing every spare moment I have! :)
I did take a one day hiatus from reading over the weekend on Monday to "focus" on real life and my poor, neglected husband (who you shouldn't feel too bad for because he simply watched football and NASCAR all weekend while I was reading). And thanks to both my parents, we got to eat out on dad and go play putt putt on mom. So, thank you, parentals for the anniversary funds! :)
And now I SHOULD have some pics to post, but of course, I left my camera at home....SORRY! :)

TWO YEARS!!!!!!!

2009-09-01T07:50:00.003-07:00

Well, this time 2 years ago (plus about 7 more hours or so), Chris and I tied the knot. It's so funny how time flies by. It honestly feels like we have been married for way longer than only 2 years. It's CRAZY to think that we have only even known each other for about 2 1/2 years now. How could that be the case with someone that I share EVERYTHING with and who feels like they've always been around???? I just LOVE being married to Chris, and even though this second year was pretty rough, it's been so wonderful having him there for support, laughter, love, etc. We really won't get to celebrate until possibly this weekend...my dad has SO GRACIOUSLY sent us a gift card so we can dine out. Plus, it'll be nice to have a long weekend to just relax and maybe find some cheaper ways to celebrate! And perhaps ONE OF THESE DAYS, we will actually get to go on a honeymoon! :)

Nothing much is new on the job front, though we are DEFINITELY keeping busy with a wedding here and there and filming these soccer games. I will leave you with a few pics of friends...I know, it is SO ABOUT TIME, right? Love you all!!!!!

Friday's Meeting

2009-08-25T15:15:00.002-07:00

So, as you might have guessed, I haven't been dying to write about the meeting on Friday because NOTHING happened. Literally, the guy was rude, didn't seem to care, AND wanted to SHARE the costs of the project with Chris and Dave-ha! :) Anyways, they are meeting with someone else that might be interested tomorrow, and even after Friday's disappointment, our spirits are still hopeful. I will keep you posted as things happen, WHEN anything does, and in the meantime, the Lord is just blessing us immensely even among these VERY TRYING times...we are healthy, in love, have each to support, listen, help, and lift up in prayer, Chris is still getting a wedding or other types of video jobs here and there, AND our most recent good news is that they are FINALLY putting carpet in tomorrow-woohoo!
So thank you all for caring enough to read this blog, for your love, support, prayers and friendships! We love you!!!!

Update on My Job

2009-08-21T13:44:00.002-07:00

So, this morning my supervisor sat me down and said that I had really stepped it up this week and have been doing a good job. She also said that my big boss had noticed and was very impressed. Then she said, "keep doing what you're doing!" So, I asked her for a little clarification, and what she gave me was basically that things are going to stay as they are with me working full time still. SO......Praise God! I have no idea if I am still kinda "in the danger zone," but at least for now, I can kinda relax and not be on the hunt for a job (part-time or full-time) right away.
Seriously, though, this has ONLY been because of the Lord! He has given me more things to do this week, including more things that were directly relevant to my "big boss" that, in my opinion, made him see all that I do here, that no one else has the time to do. But HE is the one who provided those opp's for me this week, and HE is the one who opened eyes to see that work being done, and HE is the one that has been giving me peace and EXTRA joy in all of this! SO, thank you, Lord, for once again providing and taking care of us. It truly is amazing and humbling, and I count myself truly blessed to be one of His children!!!!
Also....Chris is in his biz mtg as we speak, so if I hear from him before the workday is over, I will update you on that as well! And if you do not hear from me again this week, I wish all of you a happy and safe weekend filled with lotsa love, laughs and blessings!!!

It's Been A While

2009-08-18T07:11:00.003-07:00

Sorry, guys! I know how disappointing it can be when you regularly check certain blogs, and there are no new posts for a while.
It has been quite a roller coaster the past few weeks, so lemme update you (and i must apologize because yet again, i have NO PICS to go along with my long-winded-ness)...
As of my last post, the Lord provided another unemployment extension for Chris. I dunno how some of you feel about this whole "living off unemployment" thing for us, and believe me, I have always been one to think that a person should just get off their butt and get a job. However, I truly do believe this has been the Lord's way of providing for Chris and I. And the thing is that Chris isn't being lazy...in fact, I truly believe he is following a path the Lord has paved...it is just taking a while to get things going with all of these biz ventures that are in the works. So, hopefully, you won't be too judgmental about our current dependence on unemployment, and if you are, I gotta say that I totally understand. shrug!
So no matter how you feel about that, I MUST give all the praise and glory and honor to Him for providing for us yet again. Chris has another potentially big meeting on Friday (that I will absolutely let you know about either on Friday or early next week), and I will possibly have a "big" week as well since my bosses, I think, will be determining my current future with my company. I had my annual review last week, and though they had nothing negative to say about my performance, they did mention that there is a possibility of my hours being cut down or possibly completely cut out. Overall, it was a good review, despite that surprising and depressing news. However, it did seem as though they were trying to keep me and find a "place" for me...they had me describe what I do, additional things I thought I could take on, etc. SO.....we will just see what happens.
I KNOW the Lord has a plan for us. In fact, the verse that keeps swimming through my head in one in Jeremiah that says He has plans to prosper us and not to harm us, and I do truly and wholeheartedly believe that! I'm just trying to "praise Him in this storm" as the Casting Crowns song goes.
So, not to be all doom and gloom for this entire post, but this is just where we are right now. It'll be interesting to look back on these posts down the road, and see where the Lord has taken us and how much He has taught along the way!
We love each and every one of you so very much and count you as a blessing in our lives, one of many that He has given us!
Until next time.....

Fear

2009-08-04T11:41:00.002-07:00

It's funny to see how different some posts are from the previous ones. I just now noticed that my last post was titled "God, You are so good," and the thing is that He IS good and holy and perfect and loving, and I KNOW He is going to take care of Chris and I through all of this. BUT I must admit that I started this day on a pretty bogged-down, fearful and stressed note.
As some of you who might have facebook might've seen on my profile, I am currently reading the book "The Power of a Praying Wife." It's funny how God's timing is always present in our lives...I've had this book since November (my precious friend, Melissa gave me a copy knowing that I'd been wanting to read it for a while), and for whatever reasons I have only just recently wanted and been convicted to read this book. And it is hilarious and so not coincidental that everyday I read it, the subject is EXACTLY what I needed to hear or exactly what Chris needed prayers for that day. I am SURE many of you know what I am talking about and have had very similar occasions with the Spirit's leading.
So, after the "start" I got to the day, I open up to read a quick chapter today, and of course it's on fear and how the ONLY fear we should ever have is fear of the Lord and if we have that, He will bless us with many other things like security, mercy, protection, knowledge, etc.
That is my personal "lesson" today, and I just thought I would share it with you! This all stemmed from the fact that this is the month when Chris' unemployment runs out along with having no word (and obviously no money) from any of the business ventures that we thought were going to be coming alot sooner. This is SUCHA scary time, BUT I KNOW that "the Lord is my light & my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" Ps 27:1 So I claim this over our lives and am going to try my best to trust in Him, to fear Him and NOTHING else, and to let Him play out this time of our lives to His glory!

God, You are SO GOOD!

2009-07-28T15:25:00.002-07:00

I know some of you have been praying about Chris' mtg today, and I just wanted to say thank you so much for the prayers. Chris said the mtg went well. There are still some things to sort out and some more research to be done by Chris and his partner, Dave before any money is actually exchanged or any contracts signed, but they feel they are headed in the right direction.

But what I really wanna tell you about is how the Lord has provided the past TWO DAYS! Yesterday, at the last minute, Chris got a call about a wedding this weekend, and they wanted to meet him yesterday evening. Well, that wedding is a go now! AND today, a random guy called him wanting Chris to tape some college soccer games, possibly for the whole season.
Honestly, I have to give HIM all the glory! He just amazes me more and more everyday, and this all couldn't have come at a more perfect time! So, thank YOU ALL for your continued prayers and support. It is quite obvious that the Lord is hearing them! :)

One tiny lil prayer request about our condo, though...Chris and I are still in our spare bedroom, and there has been NO COMMUNICATION from the restoration co, our hoa's mgmt co, or ANYONE about some sorta timeline for getting our place worked on and finished. Could you please just pray over this, and include in that prayer that we would have patience and abounding love for the people we DO end up talking to and dealing with?

Thank you! We love you! Oh and I do know how boring it is to read a blog that is always words and no pictures. Just know that I am aware of how bad my word:picture ratio has been, and I will TRY to be better about that! :)

Lately

2009-07-24T07:19:00.002-07:00

Well last night was the first time we slept at home in a week! Granted, we had to sleep in the guest bedroom, but now that they finally got all the silly blowers out, we at least could do that. Course we also have to wear shoes anytime we go in the back since there is no carpet and along the wall, there are tacks sticking up everywhere, but STILL, it was nice to just be at home! Jasmine got to be at home for first time since all this happened too, and you could tell how happy she was, when she went straight for the couch (she is not allowed on the couches at Nana and Papa's house) and passed out! SO CUTE! The restoration company is supposed to come by this morning at 10:30, so we should know more about what needs to happen next and a timeline for it all. I will keep you posted on such exciting news! :) haha

On another note, Chris has 2 very important business-related meetings coming up. One is this afternoon and the other is Tuesday. Please just keep those in your prayers, and I will keep you updated on anything that comes from those!

On yet another note, this week marked my 1 year anniversary at Visible Productions. And depending on how well you know me and/or how long you have known me, you may or may not know what a HUGE FEAT that is. I have not worked at a place longer than a year since my last job in college in 2003. So it is huge and exciting to still be here and to still actually like my job after a year! So praise God for that. But now, with all these possible changes coming up for Chris, and the fact that NOTHING has changed at my job over the last year (they hired me as a receptionist with promise of having me do more than just that eventually), I am starting to wonder if this is where I should stay, or if I should begin to look into the whole teaching thing again. So, if you could just join me in that prayer, too, it'd be MUCH appreciated!

Well, we love you and all hope you all have a WONDERFUL weekend!

Condo Damage Pics

2009-07-20T10:20:00.004-07:00

The hole in our wall (Master Bedroom)

Our closet

Master Vanity

Master Bed (no carpet left at all)

What used to be spare bath
(and is now closet/storage)

Spare Bed (and another storage area now)

Line down hallway

(good carpet vs bad carpet)

View from front door and down hallway

Oh, What A Night

2009-07-17T09:28:00.002-07:00

So I got a call yesterday from my husband in the late afternoon telling me that things had been crazy around the condo. Apparently a fire alarm went off for seemingly no reason. So Chris circled the building and didnt see anything...UNTIL he started to circle the second time and what was a small trickle of water coming from the roof became a waterfall in seconds!
So he called the fire department who figured out that it came from a sprinkler water line that burst above the tenant behind and above us. They had to break down her door cuz she wasn't home and cut out part of her ceiling to get to the line and cut it off. So 4 of us on that side of the condo now have water damage in the walls and under the carpet.
HOURS after it all happened, our mgmt company finally got a Restoration Co out to start working on the 4 units. Ours was, luckily, the 3rd worst out of 4, but that also meant that they didn't start working on ours until 9:30pm and got done about 11pm. Well, got done, FOR NOW. So, our entire bedroom is now carpet-less along with half of our hallway and closet. They also had to do something to one of the wet walls and its drywall (I dunno exactly what cuz my hubby stayed last night while I headed on over to the in-laws to go to bed at a decent hour-have i mentioned how wonderful my hubby is lately???).
If I can get pics, I will post them eventually, but basically it boils down to this...we will be "displaced" for prolly about a week (thank God for in-laws even if they do live about 10 mins further from my work) while they let the floors dry and then begin replacing carpet and such.
YIKES, whata mess!
Could you please just pray that Chris and I would handle this and all the involved people as Christ would and that somehow He could be glorified?
Lotsa Love!

Another Biz Update

2009-07-16T10:37:00.002-07:00

So it dawned on me today that I haven't been keeping you up on this week's recent business happenings...It has been a busy one so far doing stuff for Annie and meeting with all the guys from this "group."
So last night Chris finally got to meet all the men involved including the investors and such. And they discussed alot of things, one being how to setup the company, salaries, benefits, etc. So that is premature at the moment, BUT a huge excitement that Chris might actually be doing what he loves, still have his video biz on the side, AND have a consistent salary and benefits.
Also, Chris made arrangements today with a guy at a smaller music venue to do a "trial run" this Saturday for what could be a very big venture with a larger jazz club in Denver, if the trial run goes well. They will be meeting with the jazz club guy on Aug 2nd to talk more about those possibilities.
So, could you please just be praying for all of this? It sounds like it could be something Chris has ALWAYS wanted to do. These guys sound like real, good, genuine guys, and Dave especially has really been looking out for Chris and really believes in him and his talent behind the camera. And overall, this could just be a HUGE answered prayer: a company that Chris is proud to be a part of, doing something he enjoys AND possibly even the chance for me to do what I have always wanted to do, which is to teach (though at this point, that is prolly pretty far in the future; however, it's still very possible and a very exciting prospect for me, too).
Love you guys!

Biz Update

2009-07-09T10:40:00.003-07:00

So we are going tonight to some studios in Boulder to meet this new artist, Annie Brooks that Chris has been videoing in order to make an Electronic Press Kit (EPK) for her. We will also be meeting one of the investors as well.
Last week I got to meet Dave, Chris' "partner" (for lack of knowing what to call him), and he is a real, nice, genuine, hard-working guy who definitely seems to have good connections and great ideas, which he is GREAT at selling. At this point, it's looking like a few things that are on the burner will start coming to fruition here in the next few weeks or so. I will definitely be keeping you posted, but PLEASE be keeping all of this in your prayers!

***I posted 2 other postings today, so be sure to scroll down and see lotsa fun pics from our vacation***

Royal Gorge

2009-07-09T10:33:00.002-07:00

We came back a day early and traveled through Western CO to the world's tallest suspension bridge...

the water clock

on the bridge

view from one side of the bridge
(1663 feet above the AR river)

view looking up from the river

"elevator" gadget we took down to the river

New Mexico

2009-07-09T10:13:00.007-07:00

I cannot even begin to express to you what a great time we had and how nice it was to be off, so perhaps the pics can do it SOME justice....

Vacation!!!!!!

2009-06-30T13:41:00.002-07:00

We are leaving tomorrow night for a nice, long, and MUCH-NEEDED vacation to Chris' parents' house on a lake down in New Mexico. I am off of work (and paid) from this Thursday until next Thursday-woohoo! So you won't be "hearing" from us for a while because we will gladly be "away from it all."
Quick biz update, things are still rolling and seemingly progressing with this new venture and this new guy in Chris' life, Dave. So please just keep praying!
Will hopefully have some fun pics to post late next week or early the following week....
We love you all!!!!!
xoxo

Last Night

2009-06-19T09:07:00.003-07:00

So we don't know a WHOLE lot more about this new business venture, but Chris went with this guy named Dave last night to Boulder to shoot a musician, named Annie Brooks (from Durango) singing and talking about herself. Dave liked Chris' camera and his shooting style and has ALOT of ideas about many different things in the music industry and otherwise. Dave also has friends that have big bucks and are interested in backing him and some of his "ideas." I know that is kinda vague, but that is all I seemed to have gotten out of my husband, so far! :)
So, now, Chris is going to meet with some of those investors early next week, and we will just see where this goes (i.e. where the Lord wants to take it-or not).
Please just be praying for the relationships with these men and just for His perfect will to be done in His perfect timing. AND for us to have peace about His will AND timing! This could be alot of fun, alot of work, etc, but it is just very hard to tell right now. It could possibly be just in the nick of time, however, since Chris' unemployment runs out in AUGUST! yikes!
We love you all and are so thankful to have your support, concern, prayers and friendships. Thank you so much for letting us be completely real here!
In HIM...

Busy Busy

2009-06-16T14:32:00.003-07:00

Sorry it has been a little while since my last post. Chris and I have been soooo busy with church stuff from small group to softball for both of us 2 nights a week. We LOVE being busy, and having this wonderful church body has been a HUGE answer to prayers. However, we feel like we have just been going, going, going! :)

So anyways, we are doing well. The business isn't doing much at the moment, BUT there is a HUGE meeting that Chris has with a guy tomorrow about doing videos for the music industry. That's all I will say until we know more after the meeting, but please be in prayer about this!

I will keep you posted and appreciate all your prayers and love and support!!!

I will leave you with a couple pictures of our brat dog, who we love so much and spoil rotten!!! :)

(this is her trying to make daddy feel like mommy's still in bed with him after i leave in the mornings...how cute and rotten is she????)

Pics from the Weekend

2009-06-01T14:51:00.005-07:00

We took Chris' aunt's new boat out with some friends from church on Saturday afternoon to Carter Lake. We had 6 adults and 6 kids on the boat all at the same time. Sounds crazy, but it was alot of fun!

All of the kids, minus the 2 babies, got to drive the boat!

Our big kid-loving every minute of it!

The Weinlands

Anne and 2/3 of her clan!

Is it really already the end of May?

2009-05-27T11:35:00.005-07:00

My goodness, it's hard to believe that June is right around the corner. I can't believe how fast this year has gone by already. This past weekend was a long one, and it was so nice to have that extra day off on Monday! We attempted to go out with Chris' fam on the boat, and we succeeded until we got chased off Horsetooth Lake by the rain around 1pm. But even though it was freezin for most of the morning, it was SO NICE to be back out on the water and on a boat for the first time so far this year! AND weather-permitting, we might be able to try again this coming weekend when it's supposed to be nicer!

Quick biz update before I follow up with pics...the wedding went very well on Saturday. The bride could not have been nicer or easier to work with, and Chris should be wrapping up the editing today and sending it out! Also, we now have 2 weddings booked for NEXT weekend, one on Sat and one on Sun! So, praise God for that! :) LOVE U ALL!!!!!

Jazzy's fave place, just like her mom and dad! :)

The clouds that rolled in....

What we resorted to since it never stopped raining after it started...

Celebrating Chris' Bday

2009-05-19T08:17:00.003-07:00

We celebrated Chris' 31st bday last weekend with our Small Group at the local bowling alley. We had a blast, and though I couldn't surprise Chris with the "event," thanks to a friend from church who is an AMAZING cake decorator, I was able to at least surprise him with a Raiders cake. And as you can see, it turned out AWESOME, and Chris LOVED it!

Pics follow this, but I also wanted to give you a quick update on things to pray for...Chris has his very first wedding this weekend, and he should find out sometime this week if he got that Hotel A/V job or not. I will keep you posted.

As always, thanks so much for your love, support, and prayers! We love and appreciate you all so very, very much!

In Him <><