My day job

I have the pleasure of assisting in the homeschooling of these three awesome kids and this is a video of them reciting James 1 completely from memory. From left to right: Avery, Wick, and Hill. They've been working on it since we started school in August and they reached our goal to be done by Thanksgiving! It's a little long but listen to each of the verses, they're so full of meaning that I feel like I learn something every time I hear it.

Memories...

Last weekend we spent several days throwing our things in boxes and hauling them across the parking lot to our new apartment. I'll post some pictures soon but it made me think about the first place Tim and I lived in. It's really the coolest story, too! Tim, his mom, and I drove up May '04 up to Arlington to check out UTA and some apartments up here. We found one and decided to move in the weekend before we got married. So in August, my dad and youngest sister and I drove up from Magnolia and Tim and his parents came up from Wimberley. So we had a U-Haul truck, a car, Tim's dad's truck and trailer all full of our stuff! When we got to our new home our parents were not too impressed and the apartment people didn't even have a place ready for us! So Tim and I went to get our marriage license and the parents hung out across the street from the complex. While they were there a couple of cops pulled up so the dads went to talk with them. These two kind men proceeded to tell our dads to not let us move in here and we would really regret it if we did!!! So when we returned our parents strongly advised us to find another place. At 2:00, on Friday afternoon, when we had to return the U-Haul truck by 6:00!! We tried not to freak out and did the only thing we could think of, we prayed. And then went driving around Arlington looking for apartments. And to make this long story a little shorter, we ended up finding an apartment about as close to UTA as you can get, and they let us move in that very afternoon!! It was truly an amazing blessing from God!! We stayed there for a year before moving to a bigger place and Tim and I have so many happy memories from our little first home. And here's a few pictures so you can see our first little home as a married couple.
And I'll post some pics of our current home when I get some decor and pictures hung.

Summer vs. Fall (or cold vs. warm)

So all I’ve heard lately is how much everyone loves fall and they are soo excited about the cold weather. And I’m just going to have to see about that. Sure, the first few weeks are different and exciting but after that, aren’t we just wishing for warmer weather again? Okay, maybe it’s just me but I love summer. I mean I really, really love summer. I love summer clothes, laying out in the pool, my birthday, vacations, the sun, lemonade, fresh fruit/veggies, the sun, long days, and many more things if I had an endless amount of time. Now, on the other hand there are some good things about cooler weather. Lets see…I get to pull out my feather mattress pad (Tim doesn’t let me keep it on year-round) ☺, nice cool evenings to run in, Tim’s hot cocoa, the World Series, holidays, and sweat pants. But there are also many things I do NOT like about cold weather! Always being cold, shorter days, running in cold weather, sweaters that make me look fat, clothes that are more expensive, dry skin, and counting down the days until spring.
All right, Jess, Liz, and several others, I do admit that there are some good things about fall and cool weather, but to be honest, as soon as Christmas is over I’ll be counting down the days until April!

Camping!

Well, a request has been submitted for me to post again so here ya go, Jess! I'm really tired so I hope I don't have any troubles with posting pictures!
Last weekend we went on our 2nd annual camping trip with Tim's sis and bro-in-law. A very good time was had by all. Todd had a blast catching a ton of 2" fish, Mindy and I laid around and got a lot of sun, and Tim got to drive the boat for three days straight. The first night, M&T didn't get there until about 1am so I think we made permanent enemies of our neighbors who got their revenge by leaving their radio on all night and letting their stupid puff dog bark all night! Thankfully they turned it off the following night and somehow managed to shut up their dog. We cooked some great food and enjoyed fantastic weather out at Lake Whitney.
And the best moment for me was when I caught a 15" bass our last morning out there. It was a pretty exciting moment!!
We really had a great time with M&T, they're some of our best friends and we always have a lot of fun with them. Mindy was a real trooper and never got sick even though she's 5mo along and has been sick for about 4 1/2 months.
Other news...
Our apt lease is up at the end of next month so we're trying to decide if we want to move or not. I'm 50/50. I hate moving but some upgrades would be nice! We've never had a washer/dryer in our apt. so that would be nice!
Tim has a fishing championship this week so he'll be in and out a lot. He might get on tv too!
Jobs are going great! The kids are doing fantastically in school and have been very cheerful and positive. The other one is going well and I feel like I'm past the beginning learning stages. I really like all of the people (especially one!) ;) and it's fun to be at a job interacting with people all day.
And now it's time for bed! I hope everyone has a great week and gets to have some fun! :)

Pictures?

Hello again!

SO I haven't written on here in forever so I figured it was about time!
BIG NEWS~~
~I graduated this summer! I am now the proud owner of a BA in History degree (as soon as they send it to me) :).
~Both of Tim's sisters are preggers! And they are BOTH due in February!
~I started back as a homeschool assistant/tutor/etc... and I am also working in the kids' dad's orthodontist office! I really like it and it's nice to have a new challenge - hopefully I won't mess anything up too badly!
~My brother-in-law is going to leave this fall to work as a contractor in Iraq (so please keep him in your prayers!)
And that's all I can think of for right now! I tried posting some pictures but that didn't work so I guess I'll try again later. I promise I have proof that I graduated! :)
Have a great weekend!!