New Home Improvements

Since we moved in to our house in October we've slowly been working to make it feel more like a home. It's been crazy since we have been so busy, but things are finally coming together. I wanted to share some of our latest projects. We just finished landscaping and are SUPER sore! I forgot how hard it is to do that, but the yard looks great & will look even better once our roses start to bloom. I'm sure I'll add more at the end of the week, but we are making progress on this wonderful Spring Break!! Come visit us soon!

WELCOME TO OUR HOME!!
(Sandra and I made these on her cricket!! )

OUR LIVING ROOM FINALLY HAS CURTAINS!!

STILL WORKING ON THE MANTLE DECOR.

OUR TINY LITTLE OAK TREE THE HOA DEMANDED

THAT WE PLANT.

THE SIDEWALK ADDITION WE

PUT IN TO REPLACE DEAD PLANTS.

OUR BEAUTIFUL FLOWER BED & NEW LANDSCAPING ROCKS!

OUR NEW SOLAR LAMPS, ROSE BUSHES, STONE & RED FLOWERS

TEACHER OF THE YEAR

Well, if you know my husband you know he is a super hard worker that will do his absolute best at whatever job he is given. When I married him he was working construction and was buying and flipping houses. He ended up back in school for broadcast journalism and while he did that he waited tables. In his short time as a waiter he became a trainer at the restaurant and while in school he earned positions in numerous honor societies as well as the position of News Director, a highly sought after position. When he graduated he worked really hard to find a broadcasting job & even made contacts across the country. He tried his very hardest to find a position, but with the economy the way that it is never did. While Brian was looking for a job he started substitute teaching in Conroe ISD. He spent a ton of time at my junior high and we got to see each other while we were working and making a little extra cash. He soon realized that this whole teaching thing was challenging, but a lot of fun. Needless to say, God didn't give Brian a broadcasting job & did bless him with a teaching position at one of the best schools in my district. (It's rare that they even look at applications for first year teachers & how he got the job is another story) Brian has done an incredible job of teaching, coaching, working with ESL kids, counseling, parenting, befriending and mentoring these kids and the people he works with. It's been so encouraging to watch him work & to see how much he cares about others. My husband has inspired me and challenged me to get back to the basics, caring & loving kids instead of being so focused on the paper work aspect of teaching. Well, this week we found out that Brian was named TEACHER OF THE YEAR on his campus. Keep in mind, first year teachers are not even considered for this award, coaches are not usually considered for this award & he's at a school with some of the best teachers in our district. WOW!!! I am so impressed with him!! He has yet to say that he's deserving of this award. He's credited everyone else other than himself for winning this award, but in my eyes, it's all him! God is doing incredible things through him & I love that I get to sit back and watch in amazement as he touches so many lives. I hope that next year I will be able to work at Knox with him and really see on a daily basis the great things he does. I'm so lucky to be married to a man like him and couldn't be more proud of my sweet teacher of the year! Way to go coach, way to go! Thanks for always working hard at WHATEVER you do! You amaze me & so many others around you!

Just Relaxin!!

For the last few weeks we have actually gotten to enjoy a life of no coaching responsibilities! It's been a blast! We've hung out with friends, gone on dates, cooked at home and sat by the fire & just relaxed! We haven't gotten to do this in a LONG time and it's been wonderful! Other than just hanging out, we are officially wanting to get pregnant soon, finishing up the house little by little, getting ready for Spring Break & then getting counting down till summer! It's hard to believe that Brian's first year of teaching will come to an end in just 12 weeks. He's done an incredible job & I'm SO proud of him! The kids at Knox adore him and he's really made a huge impact in the lives of so many. I'm so lucky to be married to him. We are hoping that I'll be able to transfer over to Knox next year and maybe just maybe we will get to work together. Anyway, I've got to run, but I feel like I'm doing a terrible job of blogging so I had to post something even if we've done a bunch of nothing. ;) Hope all is well with you guys!

Happy Birthday Brian!!

Ice Skating in Winterpark was a blast! No one else was there!!

As you can see, it was FREEZING!!
At the top of the mountain at a clear point of the trip!!

The sky was black and huge flakes were coming down, but it was fun!!

Us at Beaver Village Condos, where we stayed on our honeymoon 5 years ago!

Sledding!!!

Taking a break from skiing in the blizzard!


Happy Birthday Brian! The girls decorated the bus, all wore Happy Birthday hats and even made cards for their favorite coach! Awww!!!

Well, January 15th was Brian's 29th birthday!! Every year he complains that his birthday is no fun, so this year, his last year as a twenty something, I decided to change that!! He had to work on his birthday, better yet, coach a tournament in College Station, but I tagged along on the bus, brought cookie cake and set out to celebrate! The girls did their part too. They brought cards, goofy dollar store gifts, balloons & decorated the bus. It was a lot of fun and the girls ended up getting 3rd in the tournament that was rigged. :) It was a lot of fun. On Sunday we celebrated with my parents at Pappadeaux and then Brian's parents at Los Lamas. Monday we went to a movie and dinner and just relaxed! He loved the weekend that is, "never any fun." The next weekend we packed up and got on a plane to Denver, CO for a ski trip in honor of my sweet husband! He's loved to ski since I introduced him to the sport on our honeymoon 5 years ago. We decided to relive our honeymoon and went back to Winterpark, CO., stayed in the same condos we had 5 years ago, and even ate at Deno's, the same place we had on our honeymoon. The weather was terrible. It was 6 degrees, with windgusts of 45mph. It was cold and snowed the whole time we were there, but it was a blast! I'm so thankful to be married to a man that I can laugh with & ski in crazy weather with. (Most people gave up and went to the lodge, so we really had most of the mountain to ourselves.) He's such a blessing and I'm so glad that he was born! So again, 2 weeks after, HAPPY 29th BIRTHDAY BRIAN!!! I love you!!

Lately...

Well, if you could tell by my last post, things have been very busy lately. We are wrapping up our first semester and getting ready to end basketball season. This is bittersweet for me because it will be nice to both get to come home in the evenings before 7:00, (this will be the first time in 5 years for that to happen) but at the same time a fun, crazy part of our life is ending. I've already told my principal that I don't plan to coach cheerleading next year because we'd like to have a baby, I'd like to be able to attend my husband's games and a difference of coaching styles between my co-coach and I. However, I don't sit still well and I worry that I'll be bored not having 3 jobs. What will I do with myself? I'm so ready to start my masters, but Brian is planning to get his first since he will have a much better chance of getting a job as an assistant principal than I will in the curriculum department of a school district. However, that means I have 2 years before I can even begin. I guess that coming to a cross road in my life kind of scares me. I've always had too much to do and now I'm ready for a baby and don't have one, I am ready to be in a masters program and am not in one, and I'm ready to be at a school that challenges me in ways other than my patience and I'm not. (That sounds like I have a miserable life... not at all what I'm saying.. sorry) I am just saying, I'm ready to figure out what's next. I don't sit still well, I never have, and with life beginning to slow down I don't know what to do with myself. I literally haven't watched TV since I was like in the 8th grade because I've ALWAYS been busy! I need something to keep my sanity. I love to craft, but I end up just spending money. I love helping others, but sometimes get too involved with carrying the weight of the world. What else is there to do? I have taken up bunko with some girls from church and am SO excited about that, but that's just once a month. I am praying that God will show me some answers and place great things in my life for me to be involved in this year. I'm excited about the friends we have at church and the possibility of actually getting to hang out more now that things are settling down, but I also want clarity on what I am to do with my time this year. I've never had extra time to do great things with with exception to my two years at Impact. Now that I'm going to have it I want to make the best of it and really have a great year. Pray for clarity for us! Pray that we will spend time blessing others and growing closer together rather than just wasting time. Pray that if I am at York another year there will be changes that make it a better working environment. Life is great! I feel so blessed with the things/relationships God has given us, I just want to make sure I keep up with that and continue to grow even when life begins to slow down.

Back to Work!!

Well, it's been a very busy week! We've gotten back into the swing of things as far as work goes. For the most part the kids have been pretty good! Brian and I are exhausted, but the week is almost over. Tonight we have his College Park basketball game & then tomorrow I'm painting a second coat over my dining room, taking Linzy to the doctor, & going to our friend Jake's 1st birthday party. I'm hoping to get a little rest in this weekend because next weekend we have tournaments & the following weekend we leave for our ski trip! Fun is ahead!!! Well, Hope everyone is having a great week! Enjoy your weekend!

Holiday Fun!

Wow! It's been a whirlwind around here for the past two weeks! We started with small family Christmas the 22nd when Wade came home, had a Christmas Party with Lyndsay & George, Christmas with Brian's family the 24th & Christmas with my big family the 25th! All of these were an absolute blast & it's been SO nice to spend time with family and friends. After our Christmas celebrations we went up to Ft. Worth to see the Mallettes and meet our sweet new god daughter Cassidy! We had a blast with them. Sam still thinks he's super man so running (flying) with him was what we did most of the time. It was so nice because Sandra is on maternity leave & Caleb was off so we got to spend 3 days just hanging out with them & of course doing a little after Christmas shopping. Sandra and I came home with lots of goodies from garden ridge and I'm already ready to start decorating for fall & Christmas next year. We love those guys! After we got home from Ft. Worth we relaxed, watched some football & then had a great time celebrating New Years Eve! We just hung out at our house, watched movies, shot fireworks, watched fireworks and ate! It was nice. After a great New Years Eve, I started 2010 with a project and painted my dining room. I like the color, but now I need to add curtains, do some paint touch ups & some more decorations. :) It just seems like the projects never end around here! Well, I've got to run to the store. We are out of milk & coffee creamer! Tonight we are going to dinner with Wade one last time before he heads back to school so I better actually get dressed today too. All you can eat sushi at Tokyo One... I'm all about it! I'm sure I'll have more updates later, but for now, goodbye....