White Elephant/Tacky Sweater Fun

Last night we had a white elephant party for our friends at church. We also welcomed cute or tacky Christmas sweaters to add to the fun! It was a great party with lots of gift stealing, good food and tons of fun!! From a Blades of Glory movie poster to a can of relish from last year that has been open for a couple of years tons of goofy gifts were brought and exchanged. Juli even ended up with a Mili Vanilli cassette tape! Although it was hard to get everything organized after our anniversary weekend it was a lot of fun & something we will have to do again! I wanted to post a few pictures of our guests in their Christmas sweaters! We did have prizes for the most Christmas Spirit! HAHA!

The Perfect Anniversary!

Wow, Wow, Wow and Wow again is all I can say about the day Brian planned to celebrate our anniversary! I have always known what a special man he is & realized how lucky I am, but he really made me feel like the most special person in the world for our 5th anniversary! It was a day filled with love, laughter, tears & wonderful memories to last a life time. It started out at 7:30 because our dog Linzy started barking. Our Anniversary shares the same day as her birthday so we are convinced that she must have known it was her big day. I wanted to give Brian his gift from me so I ran and got the book I had made for him on Shutterfly! I was so excited about giving him this because it was the story of us! It had pictures of the 5 wonderful years we spent together and it was a really cool little gift. He loved it! We got out of bed although we had planned to sleep late and took Linz on a walk. We came back, got ready and went to lunch at Ellen's in Old Town Spring. It was fun to eat there and walk around for a little bit because that is where we spent our 3rd anniversary. We then got Linzy some doggie treats and came back to spend a few minutes with her. I knew Brian had something planned, but I had no idea what! He made me get back in the car and handed me a card. We pulled out of our neighborhood and into a Spa that is right across the street. I opened the card and there was a gift card to the spa to pay for what I was having done & cash to tip. He pulled flip flops out from under the seat and then sent me on my way. I had no idea what was going on. He just told me to go inside and they would take care of me. I went inside and they knew exactly who I was. They all were telling me Happy Anniversary and what a special man I was married to. I was escorted back to get a pedicure, then a one hour massage and was topped off with a manicure! I was there for three hours getting pampered while he was working on the last minute details for the rest of the evening. I was convinced that this was my gift until I got a text telling me to match my nail polish to wear a red sweater. Weird, I thought, maybe we are going to dinner. Needless to say, I was in for a HUGE SURPRISE! He picked me up and gave me a new card. It said, get comfortable while we take a little ride. We started driving and I just started asking questions, where are we going, what are we doing, is it ok that I'm wearing flip flops? HAHA! He drove downtown and I was still SO confused. Then... we pulled in to my favorite hotel, The Magnolia! I was SUPER excited, but still confused. Are we staying here I asked? What about Linzy? Is she taken care of? Do I have clothes? He just laughed! The valet guys came to take the car and opened the back, he had suitcases and presents galore. I helped gather the things and then we went to check in. I had mentioned on the way that I'd love to stop for a snack but when we got to the hotel that was the last thing on my mind. We checked in and went upstairs. I opened the door and there were rose pedals leading to the bed. There was also I love you spelled out on the bed in pedals and then chocolate covered strawberries, & chocolate chip cookies. YEA!!! I couldn't have been happier! I felt like such a princess. If we had done nothing else that day it would have been perfect, but there was more! Brian handed me a package and asked me to open it. I did and the most beautiful dress appeared! He had picked out the most stunning outfit for me to wear and had packed shoes, jewelry & everything I needed to look like a princess! He also had bought a matching tie & shirt for himself. He told me that we had about an hour before we were going to dinner so that I needed to get ready! I enjoyed the strawberries while putting the dress on and fixing my hair. We then went downstairs and got in a escalade to take us to..... there was another card with only the address. 1201 Fannin. Where were we going? The car dropped us off at McCormic & Schmick! YUM! We got out & walked inside. We were greeted with Happy Anniversary & menus that were personalized! The dinner was amazing. We had stuffed shrimp, complementary champagne & dessert, a steak & lobster tail & fried shrimp. We were so full!! Then Brian handed me another card. It said, "You didn't think I'd get you all dressed up with no where to go right?" This time the card had tickets to A Christmas Carol! WOW! I was so excited & couldn't believe the day that had been planned for me! It was perfect & so thought out! Brian is amazing, I'm a VERY lucky woman! The day couldn't have been better! I truly felt like I was in a fairy tale & will never forget the wonderful day from my sweet husband!

Busted Lip

I jinxed myself!I was sure yesterday was going to be amazing but it ended up being a very rough day! My car battery died and I had to get it replaced, which led to us being late to Brian's Christmas party. Since we were late getting there we were late leaving, so I was late getting started on the 6 dozen sugar cookies I need to make for my kiddos for our party on Friday. I was laying on the floor waiting for Brian to finish putting up clean dishes feeling sick, exhausted and 100% ready for bed when Linzy decided it was time to play. She ran over to greet me with full force and hit me in the lip with that thick skull of hers. It hurt so bad! 60lbs. of power right in the face. My lip started gushing blood, swelling up and I started balling. Poor Brian, I couldn't seem to pull it together after that. I was in pain, couldn't breathe, mad that my lip will be purple on my 5th anniversary and just sick of the day. I woke up this morning and had to laugh, my lip is swollen, but not black, THANK GOD! I'm sure my kids think I got punched, but such is life. I love my bulldog, but man, I wish she would understand when to just be calm and lay down. If you get lucky I might just post a picture later so you can laugh. I've got a game tonight and a cookie exchange at Jessica's so I'll be going looking like I got in a fight. :( At least today is a new day! Please be praying that I get to feeling better. This chest congestion is killing me. I've been feeling bad for almost a week and don't want to be sick this weekend. I was going to go to the doctor Tuesday, & then Wednesday, but due to the car battery I didn't make it. Needless to say, I'm thankful for mucinex!!

The kids are crazy!!

This time of year is so much fun in every aspect of life other than teaching Junior High. The kids are absolutely crazy with the thought of Christmas break being so close. If I could video tape my classroom and let you hear the questions you would laugh for hours. It's all we can do to contain them and try to force some sort of instruction on them. This week I had Texas Revolution projects due and we are watching the movie The Alamo in class. We have numerous parties & fun things planned for them, but they have their minds set that all 40 hours of school time this week should be spent playing. Needless to say, we have 2 more days and then we let the crazies loose to be wild at home for a week! I'm hoping to make it.

This week has been fun despite being REALLY sick with chest congestion. I went to see the nutcracker ballet with mom on Saturday, went to Ashtyn's 1st birthday party on Sunday, made fudge & cookies for Jessica's cookie exchange on Thursday, watched Christmas movies, & enjoyed time with my sweet husband. It's been a great week. Tonight we have Brian's holiday party for work and that will be fun too! I love this time of year. I love all the parties, time with friends & family, the music, the cold weather, the lights & the goofy Christmas sweaters. It's just exciting. Growing up in a family that made a big deal out of every holiday has made it even more special. Each tradition, moment spent with friends & family, dessert made and light hung all make life that much more exciting & I love it! Well, I better go get to work! Kids are coming soon!

Busy, Busy, Busy

Well, as always life is really busy! Last week we were blessed with some snow in Houston so Brian's tournament last weekend that he was supposed to host got cancelled. That gave me some time to see him, and him some time to watch football. :) That was nice. The snow was beautiful! My principal took most of the fun out of the snow by keeping us locked inside all day, but it was still pretty to watch. This weekend Brian got to watch the Texas/Nebraska game and of course had a blast. The longhorns are off to the Rose Bowl and Brian couldn't be happier. Sunday we were blessed to finally get almost all of the members of our supper club group at church together and then last night I had my Christmas party for my cheer squad. That was a lot of fun! While I was there I got a text from Caleb that Sandra is being induced this morning so I will have a sweet god daughter later this afternoon! YEA!! My cheerleaders adopted a foster home and a second family from our school and we are donating almost $4,000 worth of stuff! I'm so excited that my girls get to give back and really help other people! It's encouraging. We started the adoption tradition last year and I hope that even after I am no longer coaching it will continue. We also had amazing food, played white elephant and Jessica came to make bottle cap necklaces with the girls. Thanks Jess!! It was a lot of fun and I am lucky to coach the girls that I do. This week we have a pep rally and that might just be the last one for the year. It's a little bittersweet. My girls are wonderful and I hate to see them move on to 9th grade, but this year has been stressful and if we plan to have a baby it would be nice to maybe step down from that role next year. Other than that, tonight I may attend my first WOCC bunko night. I'd need to refresh my memory on how to play, but I'd really like to be able to play next year. I need some fun with the girls every now and then. Brian has another tournament this weekend and then I'm going to see the Nutcracker ballet with my mom on Saturday. That should be fun! It's hard to believe that December is flying by! It's fun and exciting, but I wish my favorite time of year would slow down. It's hard to believe that in a week and a half I will have been married to my sweet husband for 5 years! That's crazy! Life is great with him and although we are SO busy, life is fun & I wouldn't trade it for the world. Well, I better hop in the shower so I'm not late to work. I've got a meeting this morning.

Thanksgiving Fun!

This Thanksgiving break has been absolutely wonderful! It was a much needed break from work and great time with family! I can now go back to work for 15 more days re-energized! Tuesday night when I got off work I got to meet up with my mom and do a little shopping. Since we live so close you would think we do this often, but we really don't get to since life is so busy. It was nice to have some girl time. After we finished we ate at LaMadeline & then came home to make some banana bread before heading to the airport to pick up Wade. Wednesday Brain and I had a great day just being lazy and getting the house ready for the big day. Since we had Thanksgiving at our house this year with Brian's family and my extended family we had a lot to do. Brian's parents came over on Wednesday night and for the first time in a while we just got to hang out, eat and play games. It was really nice. Wednesday evening Brian and his dad stayed up all night and smoked a turkey for Thursday. I really don't know how they did it! They ate candy and slept thirty minutes here and there. Needless to say they were both ready for a nap after lunch on Thursday. We ended up having 4 turkeys for 16 people on Thursday. It was a little crazy but everyone got what they wanted. :) Smoked, Fried, Oven Baked & Organic.....Lunch was amazing! So many great things to eat, good times with family and football! We really enjoyed having everyone over to our place for Thanksgiving! We are so thankful to have the family that we do and enjoy the times we have together. Other than the big turkey day we have rested, shopped and almost finished Christmas shopping, put up the Christmas tree & just hung out! It's been nice to have some time together before 3 weeks of craziness. Brian has tournaments the next couple of weekends so our next real day off together will be the 19th which just so happens to be our 5 year anniversary! :) I'm lucky to be married to such a great man & continue to enjoy this crazy, fun & special life we have together. Well, speaking of that special man, he's hungry so I better go cook some dinner.

So Excited!!!

We have made it to the Saturday before Thanksgiving! I'm so excited because next week at this time I will have had an amazing Thanksgiving with family at our new house, eaten TONS of yummy food, spent time with my brother that lives in California & enjoyed 3 wonderful days off!! Plus, my Christmas decorations will be up in full swing! I'm so excited! This time of year is my absolute favorite. Last night we went to a wedding and then slept in today. I'm working on cleaning the casa because tomorrow we are going to have a visitors/new members lunch with people from church. That should be fun! There are so many young couples and families visiting WOCC that we just don't get to meet them all or talk to them just at church. Today we are going to finish cleaning the house, go eat at our favorite all you can eat sushi place, watch a Christmas movie and just hang out. Brian's got some yard work to do and I think I could bake all day! The best part of the holidays is just about to begin & I'm already loving it! I feel so blessed to have such an amazing family and group of friends. I couldn't be more thankful for my life and the blessings God has given us this year. Off to clean...

I'm getting excited!

So I was really bumbed about the idea of this week. We weren't planning to do anything very cool in class this week, Brian isn't ready to decorate for Christmas yet, I had to go back to cheerleading practice today, you get it. Well.... at a training I went to last night I learned about this site called xtranormal.com. This is a site that allows you to type and then make movies that say what you just typed. It is SO cool! I got to do that today with my kids! It actually made the day fun. If you are a teacher you should really try this! The kids will love it! I also learned about google adsense. This is a way to make money on line by allowing ads to be on your website. I signed up and it will take a few days to get approved, but if I get approved I may just end up making some money by allowing ads on my blog. Too bad I can't do that on my teacher website! I'd be rich! I'm so ready to be able to get pregnant and stay home with babies that I'm searching for anyway to make a little money to speed up the process. If you have any ideas please share them!!!

Tomorrow is hump day so I think I will make it through the week. I'm excited about the weekend & really excited about next week. Wade is coming home, people are coming in for the holidays & we get a few days off to enjoy the good things in life. Anyway, I'm about to head to bed. I've got to be up early for a baby shower/wedding shower at work. Hope all is well with all of you!

Life is great!

Things remain oh so busy in our life! We had the one day in 6 months that we didn't have AM or PM practice between the two of us this week. It was so nice to just hang out and be a couple. We watched a movie, ate, cuddled on the couch, went to bed at 9:15, it was GREAT! Now we are getting into basketball season and it will be getting busy again. I love this time of year! The holidays are coming, family will be in town, wonderful food will be made, Christmas decorations will get to go up, presents will be bought. It's just fun!

Brian had a great evaluation from his principal this week. He scored Exceeds Expectations which is the highest rating you can get & brought me flowers to tell me. He said it couldn't have been done without my support (which is not true at all). He is just so thoughtful & even in the midst of this crazy time he is still doing whatever he can to make me feel loved. He's amazing! I love this crazy life that we have together. There really is nothing that I do not feel incredibly blessed to have at this point of my life. God is good. It's amazing to see our four years of hard work paying off & struggle paying off. It's exciting! Anyway, I've got 9 school days left before Thanksgiving so I better get it in gear and go get ready for my day! Just wanted to brag on my husband and tell him THANK YOU for working as hard as he does in all aspects of our life! I love you Beebs!

Ready for Thanksgiving!!

It's been way too long since I've posted. Things have been great, but oh so crazy! Volleyball season is coming to an end for Brian and football season is coming to an end for me! Brian gets a day off in between seasons & I get a week! YEA!!! We are still loving our home (other than the never ending to do list) and love getting to be together a little in the evenings since I'm no longer working for A Points after teaching and coaching. Life is going well. Yesterday was halloween and after attending Ella's 2nd birthday we ran errands and handed candy out to our new neighbors. It was a lot of fun!

This week is going to be busy! We both have games 2 nights this week and then we have church stuff, a volleyball banquet & a craft fair on Saturday. I'm selling some of my burp wrags with some friends from church. That should be fun but I've got some sewing to do before Saturday comes.

We are so ready for Thanksgiving! We are planning to have everyone here & cannot wait! We are looking forward to a much needed break & some great food and wonderful family time. Hopefully I'll get to blog a little more later this week! We are still just goin, goin, goin!! Life is fun!

The house is coming together!

Sorry I haven't posted pictures of the house yet, we JUST got internet connected after a week and a half today so I'm trying to catch up while still unpacking boxes and getting the house set up. We are off for Columbus Day tomorrow. (Thanks for sailing the ocean blue so I can have a day to unpack!) We are hoping to get a lot done, but here are some basic pictures. We still have some painting to do, some things to hang on the wall, a microwave to put up, some lights to replace, a leak to fix, a flower bed to weed and replant, and an alarm system to get installed, but all in all it's really coming together. It's starting to feel like a home. So many special people have come to visit, we've met super sweet neighbors & we finally cooked in our kitchen. Anyway, here are some pictures... enjoy & come visit soon! We can't wait to have all of you come see us!

What an exciting week!

This week was so long and stressful but so much fun at the same time! We closed on our house Wednesday, bought Brian a new truck Thursday, bought a whole house full of furniture for less than $4,000 thanks to my bargaining skills on Friday & finished ordering appliances on Saturday. We are now a week away from move in and we are so excited. There have been so many ups and downs with this. We still don't have electricity due to some girl that has the same name as me leaving an outrageous balance with Gexa Energy & we haven't finished packing since things have been so busy. We literally have gotten 4-5 hours of sleep every night for the past week & have worked the remaining hours of the day. It's been nuts, but again exciting. Tomorrow we plan to go to church & then we are going to get a generator from my friend Kate. Thanks to her and her husband we will be able to paint and tile tomorrow which means we can have appliances delivered later this week. We need to get the yard mowed, install new light fixtures, have the windows measured for blinds, and have furniture delivered and set up all before Friday. We are hoping for no major issues. :) I'm taking off all day Friday and we are going to have a moving party that evening. We are welcoming help from our TNT group at church in exchange for food and laughs. HAHA! I have to say, we truly are blessed by this group of people. Friday afternoon before I was even out of school my friend Jessica called to let me know that she had 3 trucks lined up to help if we could use them. She said she knew how anxious we were to move & wanted to help. I was touched. We didn't get to use them because we had to get things ordered and only had that night to do so, but it was really sweet. We are excited about moving in and having people over soon. We have missed entertaining as much as we did when we lived in a house before and are excited to get back to that! We are also ready for football & volleyball season to be over since things are NON STOP right now. Hopefully basketball season will be a little slower. Two coaches under one roof is fun, but it's tough to balence. Anyway, I will post pictures of the house soon. Hopefully my kitchen will be the beautiful red that I've always dreamed of by the end of tomorrow so I can have something to share. More to come soon!

Closing week is here!

Well things have been crazy since my last post. The house is almost packed after two weekends of Brian working tournaments and me packing non stop, the school year is well underway & having two coaches under one roof has been tiring, but do able. This week is the week that is going to be nuts! Tomorrow we are having two pep rallies at York & a game. Tuesday we have another game and Open House at the same time, Wednesday we are scheduled to close on the house, Thursday I have another game and Brian has an away game & then Friday we need to buy Brian a new car as well as begin work on the house. It's going to be a little stressful, but if we can make it through this week, next week should be a little easier. We are trying to make time to see each other and catch up whenever we can, but this athletic season is making it hard. I did finally quit my second job as a marketer for A Points on Friday. That means I won't be working that extra 10-15 hours a week in the evening. That will be so nice as I have been working two jobs for the last two years. Now I'll be able to do things with people in the evenings and I am very much looking forward to that. We are so ready just to be settled and to get to have a life again. We miss hanging out with friends on the weekends, but that is part of life. It's been interesting to see who has been supportive of this crazy time of our life and who has not been. We feel so blessed for the true friends that God has placed in our life and look forward to becoming closer to some people that have really been encouraging although they are not the people we usually hang out with. It's also been a blessing to be on the team of teachers that I'm with. They have been so supportive and helped out in whatever way they can. Life at York is so much better this year than last and I'm very thankful for that. Anyway, wish us luck as we set out on this week! I'm off to bed to try to get some sleep to prepare.

The tough part begins...

Well, we just finished having our first day off, Labor Day. It was so nice to spend time with Brian and friends this weekend since we both know that there won't be much time for that over the next month. We've always been busy so we are used to that, but we are about to be working every night, every weekend and are scheduled to move at the end of this month despite those crazy coaching schedules. It's going to be interesting to see if I keep my head on straight planning pep rallies, coaching, finishing up my last few weeks at my other job, going through the ups and downs of buying a home and just trying to be a good wife. I've put my big girl pants on but I'm going to have to let God control this because it's just WAY too much for me.

Brian is still loving coaching but he begins his first month of tournaments every weekend this week. That should be tough, but he will do fine. It's so nice that FINALLY we both have jobs that we get paid enough to live on & enjoy. That's something we've been praying for almost 5 years for. God is good and I know that he will bring us through these challenges just as he has every other challenge we've faced. Let's just say it will be a relief when the month of September is over. Anyway, I've got to get out the door. One of my co-workers' dogs died this weekend and she's taking it very hard. He was young and just suddenly fell to cancer that made him completely blind in a day. I've got to set her room up for a sub but pray for Kate.

Have a good week!!!!!!!!!!!!

Busy, Busy, Busy

Well, if you can't tell by my lack of time to blog, school has begun. Brian and I both seem to have really good kids which is GREAT! Out of 140 I think I have three that I am going to have to really watch. God must have known I needed an easy year. Brian came home every day last week telling me how much fun he was having and how much he loved his job! That's so exciting because he's never been able to say that. It's really nice teaching the same subject because I can help him with lesson plans. It gives us a way to work and talk at the same time and I love that. I would hate if he had a job that I had no interest in at all. Coaching doesn't seem to be taking a toll on him, although I can tell it's going to be a tough year for me. I wasn't prepared for a junior high coach to be working every weekend and most evenings for either his school or the high school. It's a little crazy, but I'll have to learn to deal with it. Luckily, I'll be so busy moving (lord willing) and decorating a home this year that I should be ok. I've had to talk to him about over working himself already, but that is just my hubby.

As far as our house goes, we are on the emotional roller coaster of our life. One day we are good to go, the next it's going to be a "real miracle" if we get the house. One day they count my cheer income as income, the next they don't. It's CRAZY! I don't understand how someone with excellent credit, a decent down payment, & teaching job is having a hard time buying a cheap home. It's so frustrating. We are just praying that God will make things happen because we are so strapped for time and energy that we don't want it to fall through. If it falls through we also lose out inspection money, appraisal money, home owners association money, etc... so it's scary! That's almost $1,000 worth of stuff and I hope to have something to show for that. Please be praying about that for us!

Other than school and the house, Brian finished up his first quarter as an adult bible class teacher yesterday. I am so proud of him for getting out of his comfort zone and teaching people his own age. He did a great job! I know he's glad to have a break for a while since school is so busy but I know he will do it again in the future. I'm still working at APoints in addition to coaching cheer so things are crazy for me as well. There are nights that I get home at 9 having left at 7 that morning. We have really been exhausted so going to bed at 9:45 after some sort of meal is thrown together is not a rare thing. Pray for energy for both of us because we are burning the candle at both ends. We really are trying to get things set up to be able to afford to start a family and enjoy this stage of our life. It's hard to believe that we've been married for almost 5 years and have never not been busy. I'm hoping that will change soon. :) Anyway, it's 6:15 and I've got to get ready to leave by 7:00am so have a great day & an even better week!

We got the house!!!

Sp the last thing that I blogged about was that we put an offer on a house. We got a call Thursday and we got it!!! It was exciting because Wade was in the car when my real estate agent called to tell me. He got to share such an exciting moment with me and I'll never forget that. WE celebrated with Chic-fil-A not long after we got the call. We are so excited and cannot wait to move and get settled. It's in the Klein district which is a great district. We love it! I will be posting picture and news as we get it.

This weekend we had a family reunion in Abilene. It was great to spend time with such important people in my life. As always, there was not a dull moment. Beebs went to the wrong airport on his way and still ended up making it at the time he was supposed to! God is good!! There is quite a funny story that goes with the wrong airport thing but since he needs to finish his 1st year coaching stuff I will have to share later.

Today was our last day with Wade until Thanksgiving. It makes me sad to know that I have to wait that long to see him again, but it was great having some time with him while he was here! I love that boy & wish we lived closer than we do. Well, Brian has got to finish up a ton of work before we go back to work tomorrow. It's hard to believe that school is in session and we have such a busy year ahead! SCARY! I'm off to iron clothes and make lunches! Pray that we both have a good year. Love you all!!!

We put an offer on a house!!

Well, we found a house that we just love! We prayed about it all weekend and decided to make an offer on the house Tuesday evening. The house is currently in forecloure so they don't have to make a decision on the offer for a week or two. We love it and really hope that we end up getting it. It's 2600 square feet, it's in a small neighborhood, it's not too far from I-45, it's got 4 bedrooms, it's a great deal and has GREAT potential. Be praying that we will get this house and that if we don't God has something better in store. We are so ready to be settled. Love you all!!

Very Busy Week

This week Brian began two a days at College Park and I had cheer camp. It was tough to go back to work but it was a great week! My girls were awesome at camp and didn't give me any problems! That's so nice after last year. Brian really enjoyed working out with the kids and watching their great talent. On Friday we had a day off so we went to look at more houses, decorated Brian's classroom and went to Magnolia to see Wade since he just got into town. It was so nice to be productive yet have fun at the same time. Brian's school is pretty old so it needed LOTS of work, but by using random ball cut outs all over the room where paint was missing we were able to make it look GREAT! I hope he enjoys teaching as much as I think he will this year.

As far as houses go, we found a house we both LOVE. We plan to put an offer on it as soon as we can. We are still waiting for credit approval since it is a foreclosure we have to do that rather than just be pre-approved. We are really hoping it stays on the market. If not we will still be on the hunt for a great home with a yard! It's exciting to be looking but it's hard to not be settled yet. We are so ready for that day to come.

It's great having Wade in town. I know he doesn't consider Texas his home anymore but I love getting to see him! Friday night we enjoyed steaks at my parents and it was great to just catch up. He gave me the birthday present he bought while he was in Switzerland this year. He got me a Louis Vuitton coin purse that is adorable. It was so sweet of him to go all out for my birthday this year. Totally unexpected, but VERY sweet! I've never owned anything that is real Louis Vuitton so I feel like a really big deal. :) JK Anyway, I've got to go host a bridal shower at church so I'm out. More to come later....

This Weekend

This weekend was fun but I'm exhausted at the end of it. We began our search for homes this weekend. We have been looking online but this weekend we met with a realtor and really started shopping. It's finally hit us that in the next few months we will have a different home. That is exciting. The sad part was, the two houses we really liked both had offers placed on them Friday night. Such a bummer, but we are hoping that means that God has an even better home set aside for us. We really want to be able to entertain a large group of people and some houses just don't work for that. Pray that we will find the perfect home soon!

In addition to house shopping, we also got the rest of what we needed for our classrooms. We got funny looks everywhere we went because we got two of so many items. They kept asking, "Do you know you have two of these Texas posters?" It's exciting to know that we will be teaching the same thing this year. I'm going to start working on my classroom tomorrow after cheerleading practice and hopefully we will start on Brian's this weekend. His classroom needs WAY more work than mine since I am in a new school. His room really is going to need some TLC. It's got great potential though.

Other than house shopping and getting things for school we went to church & hung out with our TNT peeps. We continue to be amazed at how God has answered our prayer for good Christian friends. Every time we leave church or Sunday night dinner we always look at each other and talk about how blessed we feel to be a part of our church group. We really enjoy being around the great group of people at WOCC and are encouraged by them in so many ways.

Well, I'm off to bed! I've got cheer practice tomorrow and then I've got to start setting up my room. It's hard to believe it's time to get back to work already. This summer has been amazing and I really hope the school year will be good. I also hope it passes quickly so I can have another amazing summer next year. :) It's sad to say, but I think it's safe to say since I teach Junior High.... Summers and Holidays are my favorite part of teaching. HAHA

We get to buy a house soon!!

I am so excited. I went to talk to our apartment complex today about what it would take to get out of our lease. Our lease was signed until the end of November, but to take advantage of the first time home buyers credit we need to close by December 1st. Needless to say I was a little stressed. Well, I talked to the manager and since we have been such great residents we get to move as soon as we purchase a home!!! That means that we can move much sooner that we had originally thought. They need 30 days notice so we hope to find a house, place an offer and have it accepted by September 1st so we can move October 1st! WOO HOO! Now, that is my plan so of course things could change. However, we are officially taking steps to be home owners and I couldn't be happier. Now we just have to get pre-approval on a loan and convince some poor seller to give us a great deal. We are looking for houses in the Klein school district and so many of the homes I've liked have already been sold. There is one that we are going to look at this weekend and I'm really praying for good sellers. If the house doesn't sell I think I've found what I'm looking for. It's awesome. SO.... be praying for good sellers and that the right house comes available or stays on the market within the next month. I'll keep my 5 faithful readers posted as we go. :)

100 Things

I saw this on someone's blog and thought it would be fun to pass along. Feel free to do the same:

Bold whatever you have done.

1. Started your own blog.
2. Slept under the stars.
3. Played in a band.
4. Visited Hawaii.
5. Watched a meteor shower.
6. Given more than you can afford to charity.
7. Been to Disneyland.
8. Climbed a mountain.
9. Held a praying mantis.
10. Sang a solo.- as a joke- sure
11. Bungee jumped.
12. Visited Paris.
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch.
15. Adopted a child.- Someday
16. Had food poisoning.
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty.
18. Grown your own vegetables.
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France.
20. Slept on an overnight train.
21. Had a pillow fight.
22. Hitch hiked.
23. Taken a sick day when you're not sick.
24. Built a snow fort.
25. Held a lamb.
26. Eaten Sushi.
27. Run a marathon.
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice.
29. Seen a total eclipse.
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset.
31. Hit a home run.
32. Been on a cruise.
33. Seen Niagra Falls in person.
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors.
35. Seen an Amish community.
36. Taught yourself a new language.
37. Had enough money to truly be satisfied.
38. Seen the leaning tower of Pisa in person.
39. Gone rock climbing.
40. Seen Michelangelo's David.
41. Sung karaoke.
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt.
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant.
44. Visited Africa.
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight.
46. Been transported in an ambulance.
47. Had your portrait painted.- At Astroworld HAHA
48. Gone deep sea fishing.
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person.
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling.
52. Kissed in the rain.
53. Played in the mud.
54. Gone to a drive-in theater.
55. Been in a movie.
56. Visited the Great Wall of China.
57. Started a business.
58. Taken a martial arts class.
59. Visited Russia.
60. Served in a soup kitchen.
61. Sold Girl Scout cookies.
62. Gone whale watching.
63. Gotten flowers for no reason.
64. Donated blood, platelets, or plasma.
65. Gone sky diving.
66. Visited a Nazi concentration camp.
67. Bounced a check.
68. Flown in a helicopter.
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy.
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial.
71. Eaten caviar.
72. Pieced a quilt- well, I pieced a quilted changing table liner. Does that count?
73. Stood in Times Square.
74. Toured the Everglades.
75. Been fired from a job.
76. Seen the changing of the guards in London.
77. Broken a bone.
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle.
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person.
80. Published a book.
81. Been to the Vatican.
82. Bought a brand new car.
83. Walked in Jerusalem.
84. Had your picture in the paper.
85. Read the entire Bible.
86. Visited the White House.
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating.
88. Had Chicken pox.
89. Saved someone's life.
90. Sat on a jury.
91. Met someone famous.
92. Joined a book club.
93. Lost a loved one.
94. Served in the military.
95. Seen the Alamo in person.
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake.
97. Been involved in a lawsuit.
98. Owned a cell phone.
99. Been stung by a bee.
100. Read an entire book in one day.

Mom's Birthday Celebration

This year for my mom's birthday present she wanted to get Mimi & I to take a three generation photo. That sounds easy but she really wanted to go to glamour shots to do it! I was a little hesitant at first because my husband and little brother were worried we would look like a photo right our of the eighties or hookers with TONS of make up on. We decided to go ahead and do it and had so much fun! We got our hair and make up done and took some really cute pictures together. They made us take a couple of individuals and I even really liked those. Since I never really had bridal portraits taken I bought one for Brian and he can't wait to get it. It was a really fun experience.

After our photo shoot (haha, that sounds really funny if you know us) we went to my other grandmothers house for dinner. As always dinner was AMAZING! My Nannie is an awesome cook. She made us each our own dirt flower pots (the dessert), massed potatoes, green beans, rolls, pork chops, broccoli salad and fruit salad. It was so nice to get to spend time with her and eat an amazing meal! I love my family and enjoyed this special birthday celebration for my mom.

The last day of summer...

Well, today was our last official day of summer. Beginning Monday Brian will be a busy man learning to drive buses for CISD. Today was a very bittersweet day. Don't get me wrong, I am so excited that Brian will be teaching and coaching. Hello... what better job is there for a man that wants to have a family soon. However, I am sad our summer and hang out time has come to an end. We've had so much fun this summer and I can't wait for the many more we will have together as educators. So what did we do today you ask? 1st of all we were awakened around 10 this morning to a phone call from Caleb & Sam letting us know that god baby #2 will be a little girl! Cassidy Madison is due in December and we couldn't be happier. That started out our day in such a great way. After that we hung out for a few minutes before Brian had to go meet with his principal and then ended up going to lunch with Lowell. Lowell is a wonderful friend of Brian's from Lake Jackson. Brian didn't bring a ton of excellent friends into our marriage, but Caleb & Sandra and Lowell are definitely my favorites. It was so nice to catch up with Lowell and let Brian get some tips from an old pro in education. After we got back from lunch with Lowell I headed into work for a couple of hours. We are wrapping up our summer and trying to reach our home savings goal. We have really done well at saving for our house this summer, but we've also spent money just because we've been off. We have decided that the only way to enjoy your summer is having some sort of additional income to have fun with coming in. :) Anyway, that was our day! A great day but I will miss spending great quality time with Beebs! On Monday we will be going non-stop in different directions until Christmas break. Pray that we can make time for us in the midst of chaos! Off to bed for now! Tomorrow we are celebrating my mom's birthday in a very crazy way. Let's just say tomorrow will be a ton of fun! Good night!

A New Project Idea

Since the majority of our friends have kids I see a lot of really cute things that I want to learn how to make. Our friends Cory & Paige have a little boy named Jace. He is constantly on the go and hates sitting still. However, if he can color he's usually pretty good even through church. Jace has this really cool crayon holder that his aunt made him and for months I've wanted to figure out how so that I could recreate it. Well, I finally figured it out! These are so cute! They roll up perfectly for a purse and carry crayons and a notepad for church! I'm so excited that I've learned how to make them. These things will make GREAT gifts! Yay!!!

25th Birthday

It's official, I'm a quarter of a century! This week has been nice. My 25th birthday was yesterday and it has been a great couple of days. So many people have sent messages, called, sent cards, made cakes & cookies, and showed up to the little cake party that Brian & mom threw for me after church. It's been a huge blessing! Wade sent me a $50 gift card to Forever 21 and I got to shop on my birthday. It was so nice since I rarely buy new clothes. I was totally in shock that he did that since I know he got me something else very special back in March. He's such a sweet little brother. Today I went to Aveda and got some highlights and a trim. After that I got to lay out once again! I'm so addicted to the pool it's going to be REALLY hard to go back to work. Tonight we went to dinner with my parents at Pappadeaux and then went to church. After church Brian & mom had cake waiting so that all my friends could celebrate with me. That was sweet but I couldn't believe so many people stayed to eat. We've really got some amazing friends. I continue to be grateful for God deciding that Houston was where he wanted us. The people that he has put in our lives blow me away & I cannot wait to raise a family with such wonderful friends nearby! I wish Caleb & Sandra were here, but we will just have to travel to see them!! Thank you all for blessing my life! 25 was a great birthday!!

Learning to Sew!

For my 25th Birthday my mom bought me a sewing machine! If you know me then you know that is something that in the past I never would have wanted. However, recently I have wanted to learn how to sew so that I could make cute gifts for the millions of baby showers that I attend between work & church and so that someday I can make stuff for our kids. At first the sewing machine was just not feeling me! However, after 2 lessons from some friends at church I think I've got the hang of the basics. I'm having so much fun crafting. I've already quilted a changing table liner (for those nasty public restrooms) and made several burp rags as well as a pillowcase dress. I'm having so much fun. It will be nice to have a girl pile & boy pile to grab gifts from when things get crazy again this fall. Hopefully soon I will be able to make curtains and decorative pillows for our new house! In the mean time, its a fun way to spend the last part of my wonderful summer!

Fun in the Summer

We have been so busy this summer! We started the summer out going to our godson's second birthday! It's hard to believe he's already 2! We spent the weekend in Ft. Worth and had an absolute blast with Caleb, Sandra & Sam! Our Mallette peeps are near and dear to our hearts. The next weekend we went to Lake Mathis with a big group of friends from church. We rode wave runners, jet skis, tubed, and got a TON of sun! It was such a blessing to get to spend a weekend with our friends. God truly has blessed us with great friends at WOCC! The next weekend we went to family camp in Palestine. That was wonderful! Over 120 people went and we had the time of our lives. We played games, swam, made S'mores & worshiped our God together. It was so nice. June flew by! This weekend was 4th of July weekend. The Crums came to town so we went to hang out with them on Friday before going to the Cannon's holiday party. Saturday Beebs and I went to see The Proposal & ate at Cheesecake Factory for lunch. For dinner we went to The Waddell's & ate more than we ever should have. We shot fireworks with friends and had a blast. Imperial Oaks was one of the few places people could shoot fireworks so there were SO many people there. I love the 4th of July! This week I am going to learn how to sew & then we are going to put on a building healthy relationships seminar for Impact kids. I've got a TON to do for that so rather than blogging I better get to work! I'm thankful for a VERY fun summer so far & hope the rest of July is just as great. I still have not gotten excited about August but that's ok! I've got time.....

Beebs got a job!

Sorry I haven't posted in forever. Life has been so busy and not very exciting. Brian had a really hard time finding a job! The market & economy are awful right now. However, he interviewed for history positions at Wells Middle School & Knox Junior High and got job offers from both schools in a two day period. He decided to accept the offer from Knox and will be teaching Texas History & coaching in the fall. Yea!!! We finally feel like we are getting somewhere! 2 incomes will be great and working at a great school close to home is also awesome. God has even been working to make us feel more at home at church. We have made great relationships and have started a TNT (twenties-n-thirties) group at church. This has been such a blessing! I guess the neon light we have prayed for for months points to stay in Houston! I will TRY to keep you all up to date on the exciting adventures of a first year teacher and coach!

Ladies Retreat

This weekend was so nice . We had a ladies retreat at church and for the first time in the year and a half that we have been there I felt welcome. Juli Dozier and I rode up together and had an absolute blast. If we do not get jobs in Ft. Worth she could really be the answer to my prayers for a friend at church. We had so much fun and really got to get to know each other. There were so many great people that stayed the night on Friday night. We played Crazy Bridge, put on a fashion show, ate chocolate until we could eat no more and just enjoyed each other. God knew I needed that. I do feel that if we stay we could have a close group of friends to hang out with. There really are more people than just us that want friends and want to be apart at that church. We will see what happens. We are praying for God to place us where he wants us and with that give us a group of friends that we can have lifelong relationships with. Keep praying for guidance for the our little family.

Looking for the neon light!

Good news first.... We got Brian's car looked at. I agreed that if it cost less than $200 to fix it we would fix it. We had it looked at and it cost $150 to fix it. God is good! He knew that we couldn't really afford a car for another month or so. Brian has worked at York every day for the past week so he has still been able to make a little money despite not having a car. He has gotten to drop me off at A Points and come back to get me around 8:30 so I've been able to keep working that job too. :) Again, God is good.

We have been talking about moving out of the Houston area into the DFW area for quite some time now. We would love to be close to Caleb, Sandra and Sam and at a church that we just love. We would also love for me to make more money teaching and Ft. Worth area districts pay quite a bit more. Needless to say we have been praying for God to give us a neon light on what he wants us to do and where he wants us to end up. We want so badly to be in place where we have good friends and feel like we are at home when we are at church. Other than Impact we just haven't felt that while in Houston. Don't get me wrong, there are some amazing people in Houston and we love being close to our parents, but we just have never felt at home here. We have decided that if I am going to continue to teach I might as well teach in a place that I can make what I make at three jobs in Houston at one job in Ft. Worth. We have also decided that it would be great for our kids to have cousin Sam and the Crum and Shewmaker kids near us as they are growing up. DFW would be close enough that we would still be able to see our parents often but we would also have the other things we are looking for when we begin our family. What we don't want to do is get our wishes and God's will mixed up. We want to be in a place that is good for our spiritual well-being as well as our marriage. We need a neon light. If God wants us to stay in Houston then doors in Ft. Worth need to close and door's in Houston need to open as far as a job for Brian goes. If God wants us in Ft. Worth we need to both find jobs. We truly need guidance. This is such an important time of our life and we need to make the decision that is going to be best for us and our children in the long run. Please be praying for a neon light for the Lee's and for God to continue to provide for us while Brian is looking for work. Life is good! We love each other and have been very blessed to have this time in Houston. Now we just need to figure out if Houston is where we need to stay or if God wants us to move on.

Brian's getting old!

Well tomorrow my wonderful husband turns 28! He has never really liked his birthday because it comes at a weird time of year when everyone is broke and tired from Christmas. I gave him his present from me tonight. He got a brand new golf bag and gets to use it this weekend to play golf with Blake. I was so excited about this present because it was going to be the first time I actually surprised him with a gift. That was until I ruined the surprise. You see, while we were on vacation Brian kept up with all of our receipts. While we were on the plane flight home I was cleaning out my purse and giving my bookkeeper all of our receipts. I failed to notice that the receipt for his birthday present was included in the pile I gave him. After a minute or so I noticed Beebs reading one receipt for a little longer than the others. I looked over and noticed the receipt for the golf bag that has been hiding at my parents house for a month was in his hand. WHAT AN IDIOT! I ruined his surprise. It was quite funny though.

Anyway, Brian is going to sub at my school tomorrow so we will get to see each other a little bit. I wanted to take cake but he said he didn't want cake. BOO!! We will go supervise my cheerleaders tomorrow night at the girls basketball game and then after a very exciting day with junior high students and cheer parents we will go to Rudy's with his family for dinner. Sounds like a SUPER EXCITING BIRTHDAY! :) We do plan to have fun with Olivia and Blake this weekend in Beaumont. After talking to Olivia tonight it sounds like they have a ton planned. Hopefully that will make up for such a boring January 15th. HAHA

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRIAN!

Getting Started

Hello everyone! We are finally attempting to start a family blog! We have both wanted to for a while, but with our crazy work and school schedules it has not been possible. Brian is now out of school and one of my three jobs is coming to an end. We will try to keep everyone up to date with what is going on, but can't promise daily blogs. :)

As far as what is going on now, Brian is actively searching for a job. He has sent out what seems like 100's of resumes but no one is hiring. He wants to work in radio, sports broadcasting or baseball operations. He also would not mind doing public relations or media management. We are hoping to find jobs in Ft. Worth, but if we can't I guess Houston is a good place. While Brian is searching for a job he is substitute teaching in Conroe ISD. He enjoys working with kids so teaching/coaching may end up being in his future. We truthfully do not know. We are praying that God will lead us and put us where he wants us to be. It will be wonderful to see what he has in store.

I (Nikki) am currently teaching seventh grade history in The Woodlands. I enjoy working with kids so it's a great job! This year I took on the job of being a cheerleading coach. This has been an experience. Needless to say I am glad that the season is almost over. :) In my spare time (6:30-8:30 at night) I work as an appointment setter at a sales office. It provides a little extra money and makes me value my real job.

Together we enjoy traveling, sleeping, going on dates, spending time with our family and friends and experiencing life! We hope to have kids in the next couple of years, but for now we enjoy just being us!