All Settled

We finally moved into our house 3 weeks ago and have slowly settled in. I was painting walls within hours of closing on the house. I am always anxious to make a place feel like home, and couldn't wait to paint! Thankfully Cody has wonderful friends close that helped him move us. Cody did say that's the last time we'll move ourselves so it must have been rough! We have enjoyed making it our own, making small repairs along the way. It's nice to have a place of our own that we can do whatever we want to!

Last weekend I was offered a job I couldn't refuse. I was asked to babysit Nolan Ryan's grandbaby "Nolan" at his home in Fort Worth. Nolan's daughter Wendy was in town and needed a sitter for a few hours so she asked another friend of mine for her recommendation for a sitter. The whole family was very nice and down to earth. I couldn't get up the courage to ask for an autograph (which I'm still hearing about at home) but it was such a neat experience meeting him that I didn't much care.

We loved giving out candy to the trick or treaters this weekend for the first time ever. Cody laughed every time our door bell rang because he said my face lit up:) We went to a Halloween party after that at our friends house just down the street. It's been wonderful having friends so close and always having friends and family stop by. I'll post pictures as soon as I find my camera!

Life as Usual

I just realized it's been 6 weeks since I last blogged... I guess the excitement of blogging has already taken a back seat to life as usual:) I can't believe how time flies. We get home late on week nights and practically live for the weekends. I guess that's pretty normal though.

I don't know who came up with the saying that "the first year of marriage is the hardest" because thankfully for us this is farthest from the truth. I guess that's one of the only benefits of dating so long beforehand. We've been total homebodies the past few months which is really nice for a change, but I think our friends are starting to wonder where we are... With the holidays approaching, I'm sure this will all change very soon.

We are crossing our fingers to close on our house this coming week. We're getting tired of living out of boxes! I'll keep everyone updated...

Love you all

Week 1 down & a new house!

I survived my first week at Mambrino School & have to say I am very excited for a relaxing weekend full of sleep! Thankfully this will be a 3-day weekend! I actually didn't see any kiddos this week, however just figuring out my schedule & when I would see each of my speech kids was a full-time job. Teachers just don't want to give up 30 minutes of their day for their kids to come to speech, which made my life pretty difficult trying to please everyone! They were all wonderful to me though & made me feel very welcome. I know that this year is going to be so great & I look forward to all I'm going to learn from my incredible supervisor (I have to be supervised my 1st year as an SLP).

Tonight we FINALLY found out that our offer was accepted on the house!! We are so excited to finally have a place of our own. It has been a waiting game, as this was a foreclosure and the bank was not in any hurry evidently. I think it was good for us to learn patience though & trust that the Lord knows what's best for us. I have to say it was probably perfect timing though since I was just starting my first job.

Cody is working for a plumbing supply company in Fort Worth part-time this semester. They've offered him a position in sales when he graduates in December & they're giving him the opportunity to learn the business to decide if the job is something he'll really enjoy. He did so well in school this summer that his school was paid for his last semester which was such a blessing! I'm so very proud of him.

These are photos of my therapy room.

My first "real" job!

Well I've finally finished my first unofficial week of school at Mambrino School. It was "teacher work week" so I had many hours of listening to speakers and a lot of stuff that didn't apply to me as a therapist what so ever... but I did finish my fabulous new room! I'm blessed as a speech therapist in a school to have a HUGE classroom to do therapy in & it's all mine!! Most therapists are stuck in a tiny closet or share rooms with other teachers or administrators, so I'm incredibly happy! Mom came up 2 days and worked magic to make the room feel cozy and precious. We went with a beach/sea theme & used many things left over from the wedding, so it's bright & all coordinating! Now all I need are my kiddos! (I will have 45 of them from pre-k to 5th grade!) I met a few of them last night at "meet the teacher"night & it got me all excited:) I'm ready to finally do what I've been training for throughout the past 6 years! I'm blessed to have an amazing supervisor for my CF year that's been in the field for years & it still on fire for speech path. I know I'm going to learn so much this year & can't wait. Kids will be starting Monday so say a little prayer that I don't mess any of them up:)

Honeymoon!!

I'm finally getting around to posting on our honeymoon trip to Cyprus, Greece & Egypt. I knew our honeymoon was going to be wonderful, but I never could've imagined it would be a surprise trip to the Mediterranean! It is almost impossible to explain what an incredible trip we had. We spent our first night at an amazing beach-side hotel in Cyprus. We boarded a 5 day cruise to the Greek Islands the next day from a port in Cyprus. Our ship docked at Kos and then Rhodes, with plenty of time to explore the islands and soak up the culture. We rode bicycles along the beaches, shopped, and explored the sights. I had no idea how much culture & history we would learn from this trip. We treked on so many biblical grounds and historical sights were around every turn. It has been neat to come home & read about Paul's journeys to many of the areas we experienced first-hand. After returning from the Greek Island cruise, we boarded another 3 day cruise to Egypt. In Egypt we saw the mummy museum (including King Tut & his tomb!), the famous great pyramids, the Sphinx, and finishing the long day with a cruise down the Nile River. Cody & I even decided to crawl into one of the pyramids (an optional excursion) which was such a small entrance that we had to practically crawl down the long hallways. Talk about claustrophobia! After returning from the Egyptian cruise, we stayed another 3 days at a beachside resort in Cyprus. By this time we were exhausted, so we really lounged for the entire stay. It was a trip we will never forget! We now really have the Europe bug and can't wait to return! Here are a few of my favorite photos...

House Hunting

Well, we've made the big decision to buy a home of our own. With us both beginning new jobs, we felt it was finally time to stop paying someone else rent! I think we've looked at every home in Granbury during this process, spending many of our weekend hours driving around the city. We made an offer on a house a few weeks ago, then got scared & pulled our offer out before it was reviewed by the owner! It's such a big purchase & we got scared! We've now decided to look into purchasing in Weatherford (about 30 min from Granbury) because the market is better & we can get more house for the money. It will be about a 40 min drive for me to my school, and about the same for Cody. We made an offer on a home near the square in Weatherford two days ago & are still waiting to hear back! It is a precious 4/2 with white siding and a cottage feel. The inside has been completely remodeled so it's move-in ready too! It also has a huge backyard for Soph to enjoy (she's had a tiny dog run for the past 8 months so she's super-excited!). It's a foreclosure and that is why the process is a little longer than we'd expected, but we are praying it will become ours very soon!

Our Wedding Day

Here is a slideshow of our wedding day events. We were incredibly blessed to have perfect weather on our wedding day. The ceremony was set up on the beach early in that morning while the girls all went for massages and the guys went out on a deep sea fishing trip (thanks to my generous parents!) Bill was our "minister" for the ceremony & did a fantastic job. The wind actually stopped as I walked down the beach with my dad. This was my only worry & I truly believe it was an act of God. Everyone from the beach & pool area gathered around (even pulling up chairs around the beach) to watch the ceremony. They even gave a standing ovation as we were announced! We then had a cocktail hour in the air conditioning before heading back to the beach for the coolest fireshow ever! It was a complete rock band with firedancers and a drum line. Dancing in the sand to the drum line is a memory I'll never forget. We finished the night with a reception at the Brazilian steak house, complete with a Mariachi band. Thanks to everyone that was able to attend and those who sent well-wishes! It was truly the best day of our lives!

Pre-Wedding Fun

We were joined by 40 of our family members & dear friends for our wedding festivities in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. Our immediate family spent a week in Playa before the big day, to organize wedding details and spend a little R&R before the real excitement began. You'll notice a little mis-hap on our journey to Mexico (cake #1), but luckily it was the only one the entire week:) I have to say it was the lowest-stress wedding I could've imagined and turned out to exceed every expectation. (And anyone that knows me knows that my expectations were high!) The Lord had his hand in every detail. We hope you enjoy the pictures!

Summer Time

Well guys, it's been a few months since the wedding and we've finally settled down into real-life again so I think it's time to begin a little blog spot to share in our new family's events. I have been wanting to share wedding & honeymoon photos with all of our family & friends & I think this is the perfect way. We are going to keep it updated with blogs & photos from our life events here in Granbury so if you're wondering what we're up to, stop in and check it out! And if you're ever making a stop in Granbury, you always have a place to stay!