Another Year Older

Well...I can no longer say that I'm in my early or even mid-twenties.  I have officially passed over to the mid to late twenties milestone.  Wah, wah, wah!  My birthday was on August 14th and I turned 26!!!  I tease that I'm just going to stay 25 until it's very obvious that I could no longer pass for someone even in my twenties!  Hehe...I actually have enjoyed getting a little older.  I have grown more as a person, spiritually, mentally, and emotionally over these past few years and I really give a lot of credit to Cody on that one.  He (and my parents of course!) has never been afraid to call me out whenever I'm having a "moment." It's helped me to be aware of myself and my emotions so that I can handle problems or other situations in a way that the outcome will be positive and my relationships grow stronger.  My parents obviously had a big hand in this since they raised me for the first 18 years of my life, but it's nice having my husband continue to help me grow to become a better person.  I am so thankful for my precious family and my amazing husband...and our three babies!  It's so nice to be surrounded by the people (family and friends) that you love on a special day, like your birthday!

My birthday has always been right around the time school started, and this year it was the Sunday before I had to go back to school and start in-service.  However, that didn't stop me from celebrating!  This year, Cody was actually gone on my birthday, which was kinda sad.  But, he and his dad got to spend a lot of time together and see some beautiful scenery while being away.  They went on a 10 day motorcycle trip all the way from Abilene, to South Dakota, to Indiana, and then back home...4,000 miles!  Since Cody was gone, I spent pretty much the whole day with my family and the babies (dogs)!  We went to Perini's for lunch...which is hands down the BEST place to eat on the face of this world.  Don't argue with me...I'll win!!!  Michael's girlfriend's dad and grandparents were in town and she had actually made reservations out there and we joined them.  So, it was nice getting to spend some time with her family while eating the delicious food!  On Sunday's Perini's has a brunch that includes all the home cooked classics.  The food is all so, so good and you really can't go wrong with ordering anything.  I decided to order off the menu and got a grilled chicken sandwhich with grilled jalapenos, green chiles, and mushrooms...yummy!!!  Everyone else went through the brunch buffet line and we all chowed down!  After lunch my sweet family came over to our house and we took some pictures and opened presents.  My parents got me a Visa gift card that I think I will use to purchase my next piece of David Yurman and Michael got me a new set of work-out clothes!  All will be put to good use!  My sweet husband also got me a few things for my birthday even though he wasn't there to celebrate that day.  I have been wanting a second wedding band on my ring, and so that's just what he got me!  So, now I have a ring on either side of my engagement ring and it looks amazingly fabulous!!!  He also surprised me with a new set of work-out clothes.  So, I've got a whole new wardrobe for the gym...love it!  I hoestly didn't think I was going to be getting anything else from him since he was having another band made for my wedding ring.  But, right before he left for his trip, he surprised me with the work-out clothes and two sweet, sweet cards.  So thankful for that man!  For the rest of the day, mom and I ran a few errands and then my mom, dad, and I went to Jason's Deli for dinner.  We went to Nikki's for some frozen yogurt and then I went home and spent some time with the pups.  I had to get a few things ready to go to school the next day and once that was all done, I watched the Sex and the City movies and just relaxed.  All in all it was an amazing day and I look forward to seeing what God has in store for me this next year!

Pictures of my family and I and my three babies on my birthday!



My amazing ring with my new band that Cody got for me for my birthday!  B-E-A-UTIFUL!!!



Wake Up Call!

Most people use an alarm clock when they need to get up in the mornings.  But...I have something else that helps me to wake-up and get out of bed.  That sweet little thing is my precious Faith.  I have said before that she sleeps with Cody and I, most of the time she is smack dab in between us.  During the week, I do use an alarm clock.  Faith isn't quite ready to get up at 4:40 (when I go work-out before work) or 5:30 (when I go to work-out after work) in the mornings during the week.  But on the weekends, she is ready to get up and snuggle between 7:00 and 8:00!  I say get up and snuggle...she is really just ready to eat!  The other two dogs promptly follow suit and began stirring and making noise in the living room.  Sarge sleeps on the couch and when he wakes up, he just shakes his head so you can hear his collar and then comes and stands at our door.  Trigger still sleeps in her kennel the majority of the time and when she wakes up, she cries and becomes super fussy!  Either way, when it's time to get up, they are ready and full of lots and lots of energy!

I had to write about Faith giving me my "wake-up call" because this past weekend she was so sweet and loving.  All summer long I've been at home with them all day long.  So, this past week when I was at school for in-service, they were all home alone and became very attention deprived.  Yeah right!  Those dogs get so much attention...they don't even know how spoiled they are! We definitely love those three little wiggly butts so, so much!  Well, on Saturday, Faith started to wake-up and make her way to my side of the bed.  She was actually laying at our feet and I heard and felt her moving towards me.  Before I could even roll over to see her, she was right at my face, gave me some kisses and then laid right on top of my face!  When I finally rolled over she moved to lay on my chest and then nestled her head on the other side of my neck and laid there for a few minutes.  I loved on her while she laid there and after she knew I was awake and getting ready to get up, she proceeded to give me sugars.  It was just so sweet and so loving.  When she started getting up, I asked her if she wanted food and she bolted to the door and our snuggle time was over!  Miss Faith does the same thing with Cody in the mornings if I'm already up or gone.  She just loves to be snuggled in the mornings and at night!  You just don't realize how much love these doggies have in their hearts.  They can make any bad day turn into a good one...or even start your day off good!  We are so thankful that we have these three loves.  They are each so different and have their own little personalities that make them even more special!

Motorcycle Trip

I'm going to start this post off by saying that I am SO glad that my hubby made it back home safely from his motorcycle trip!!!  I was a ball of nerves and anxiety the entire time he and his dad were gone and I missed him terribly.  But, I am so thankful to all of my friends and family who prayed for their safety and good weather while they were away.  And, I'm even more thankful that God kept them safe and sound and allowed them to have such a fun time.

Now, I'll tell you all about the trip that Cody and his dad went on!  I guess they started planning this trip back in the fall...so nearly a year ago.  Cody's dad has always had a motorcycle, I guess since he was a teenager.  I think he was about 13 or so when he started riding.  Rick (Cody's dad) has always had at least one motorcycle ever since.  Cody has been around them his entire life as well as been around many, many people that ride them on a regular basis.  So, naturally, Cody developed an interest in motorcycles and actually had one for awhile while he was in college.  But, he hadn't one in a long time.  Last spring, Cody's uncle was selling his motorcycle and it was in really good shape, had low miles, and was only a few years old.  So, he bought it!  I was ok with this because I knew it was something that he enjoyed doing and it was something that he and his dad could do together.  This motorcycle wasn't really built for long trips, so it was going to mainly be something that Cody rode around in town on when the weather was nice or he and his dad were going to go for a short ride.  But, then he and his dad started talking last fall about taking a long ride together and the motorcycle that he currently had wouldn't do for this long of a trip.  It wasn't big enough or comfortable enough to ride for thousands of miles.  So, Cody posted an ad to sell that bike and it actually sold rather quickly.  Then, he began the process of looking for another bike that would be sufficient for taking a long trip.  I got a phone call from him while I was at school a couple of weeks later that he had found a bike that would be perfect for their future trip.  It was a good deal, was in amazing shape, had super low miles, and was only 2 years old...so he bought it!

Shortly after, Cody and his dad began planning their trip and booked hotel rooms for the place where they were going to stay in South Dakota.  This was going to be a long trip, between 10-12 days depending on the weather and traffic.  I guess it was about summer time when I started getting really nervous and almost trying to talk Cody out of going.  I also tried to use the guilt-trip card because he was going to be gone on my birthday.  Believe me, I was pulling out all the stops when I was trying to get him to change his mind and not go!  I trusted that God was going to take care of him and keep him safe.  But, I was also not in control of what was going on and I wasn't going to be with him to know he was safe, and naturally began doubting.  I had all these crazy thoughts going through my head of scenarios that could happen, which could easily happen in a car, truck, or other motorized vehicle.  I was just fearful because a motorcycle is a little more dangerous and many people simply don't look out for them on the road.  I was truly worried about other drivers, no matter if they were driving something that had 4 wheels or 2...or 18.  I remember coming home from my Grandma's house after July 4th weekend and it was just Cody and I driving home in my car.  I had been thinking and praying a lot about this trip and I had this sense of peace come over me.  Now, I'm not going to sit here and say that I stopped being nervous, worried, or anxious.  But, I knew that God was going to watch over them and keep them safe.  He wasn't going to let anything happen to them.  And I knew that sense of peace that I was feeling was God telling me that it was going to be all right.  I also knew that I had some apologizing to do to Cody for making him feel guilty and trying to talk him out of this trip.  So, we spend most of the ride home talking about the trip, and me apologizing.  Cody just reassured me even more that it was going to be ok, the roads they were going to travel on weren't overly traveled or busy, and that his dad was going to make sure that Cody was always in the safest place possible when on the road.  Then, the waiting began for the day that they were going to leave.

Soon...August 6th was upon us.  I am not much of a crier, and let me tell you, I shed a lot of tears that day.  I was going to miss him so much and I was also worried about them.  He promised me that he would call or text every time they stopped for gas or to take a break.  He was also going to do the same the moment they got to where they were stopping for the night so that I would know they were safe and sound for the night.  They rode between 350 and 400 miles for the first three days and arrived in Rapid City, South Dakota on Monday afternoon.  They spent the next three nights there and traveled through some beautiful places for those three days.  They went to Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse, the Black Hills, the Hot Springs, and also drove on Iron Mountain Road and the Needles Highway.  I saw pictures from all of this, but this is one of those times that a picture just doesn't do God's creation justice.  Cody even said that at one point it brought tears to his eyes to just look and and see all the beauty that God has created.  Amazing things HE has done!  They also went into Sturgis, which is a big deal during the second week in August.  It's called Bike Week and there are some crazy things that go on!  But, they only went during the middle of the day when it was semi-calm to have lunch, do some souvenir shopping, and look at all the bikes that were there.  I looked it up and the town only has about 6,700 people that live there.  But during bike week the town grows to about 35,000 people...how crazy is that?!?!?  I watched a special on the Travel Channel about the Sturgis Bike Rally the Sunday night before it started and it was crazy to me at how many people flock to this sleepy little town.  It also amazed me to see all the motorcycles...holy smokes there were thousands of them!  Cody said it was nuts just looking around the streets and all you see are motorcycles parked along side them for miles and miles.  So, that was a fun part of the trip.  Did some sight-seeing, went to Sturgis for a day, and rode through some beautiful scenery.  When they left South Dakota, they headed to Indiana.  Rick and Cody have a lot of family that live there, but they haven't gotten to see them in several years.  In fact, Cody hasn't seen his grandfather in about 16 years.  He isn't in very good health and has a hard time traveling very far, and we have just been so busy with life that we haven't even gotten up there ourselves.  It took them about two days to get from Sturgis to Indiana and they stayed in Indiana for three nights and spent a lot of time with Rick's side of the family.  They went out on the lake, rode motorcycles with other family members, and just spent some good quality time together.  But when I got that phone call that they were leaving Indiana and headed back to the good 'ole state of Texas...I was beyond excited!  They left on Monday morning, which was the 15th, and drove well over 700 miles the first day and stopped in Springfield, Missouri for the night.  He said that if the weather was good, they should be back in Abilene by late Tuesday evening.  But, he called me early on Tuesday morning and said it was pouring down rain so they were going to have to wait it out.  About 90% of me was thankful that they weren't going to try to drive in such stormy weather, but the other 10% of me was so ready for them to be home that I just wanted them to hop on their bikes and book it!  Thankfully, the rain lightened about 10:00 and they headed out to come home.  They went through Joplin on their way home and Cody said it was just devastating to see all the damage that was done by the tornado that went through there several months ago.  He said it was almost like a ghost town...so very sad.  When they got to Wichita Falls, I was really scared for them.  Cody told me that it was so hot and they were so dehydrated, but they were going to go ahead and keep riding.  The weather had taken such a toll on them because they were coming from 80 degree weather into 105 degree weather.  Add the fact that the asphalt from the road is scalding hot and radiating up on them while they are riding.  I was almost hoping they would stop and just stay the night and come the rest of the way the next day.  But, they stopped at Cracker Barrel and had some food and a few gallons of water and felt much better.  So, they rode the rest of the way in.

It was about 9:15 on Tuesday, August 16th...I wasn't keeping track or anything :-)...whenever I heard the glorious sound of the motorcycle pulling in the driveway!  I can't tell you how good it felt to know that he was home and safe from that long 10 day ride.  It was so nice for him to be home, and the dogs were so excited for him to be home too...they missed their daddy!  I did get in some serious snuggle time with all three of them while he was away.  Both of the girls slept with me in our bed and Sarge stayed in the living room and protected us girls!  Trigger curled up in a little ball every night and slept on Cody's pillow and Faith snuggled up right up against my back.  They were so sweet and definitely made me feel safe at night while I was home alone!  I just told him the other day that I have never been so thankful to see that motorcycle parked in the garage as I have been ever since he came home.  All I ever wanted before was for it to be gone, and now I'm so glad that it's there.  Simply because that means that he's home safe and back from his trip!  When he got home he told me all about what they had gotten to do and see and showed me pictures of how amazingly beautiful everything was.  We also talked about how he was glad that he had gotten to go on such a long trip, and with his dad, but he didn't think he would ride for that long again.  They went right at 4,000 miles in 10 days...that's a lot on a motorcycle!  We made a deal that when he got back, he was going to sell the bike.  That's still in the works, but I know he will probably always have one.  In fact, we talked about that too after he got home.  However, he said if he gets another one, it's going to be one that has those really tall handle bars, they call them ape hanger handle bars.  I told him he should get a chopper.  You know, like the ones that they make on that TV show, West Coast Chopper?!?!?  I mean if we're going to have a motorcycle, let's get a super crazy, insanely ridiculous, off the wall, souped up one!  But...we might wait a few more years until another motorcycle crosses over the threshold of our garage!  He's in the process of getting a new truck and so the motorcycle is definitely for sale...any takers?!?!?

Here are a TON of pictures from the trip!!!

Mount Rushmore!!!

Cody in front of Mt. Rushmore

Cody and his dad in front of Mt. Rushmore

This is a side view of Crazy Horse.  It is still in the process of being carved out of the mountain.  When it's finished, it will be him and his horse that he rode.  Cody said he herd it could take up to 100 years to complete...crazy!

Some pictures of the beautiful scenery that they drove through while riding on Needles Highway.

Here are some pictures of Sturgis and some motorcycles riding into Sturgis.  Some of these people are nuts!!!

This is kinda scary.  But, here are some pictures of the motocycle gang, Hell's Angels.  I had to blank out a word on that bumpber sticker...it was a little obscene!  On the top left is a picture of one of their motorcycles.  These guys are some scary dudes!

Here are some pictures of Cody's family in Indiana!

Our Little Princess!!!

Our sweet, precious Faith turned 3 years old on August 6th!!!  This little chocolate bundle of love has taken such a hold on my heart.  She is definitely a momma's girl and follows me around everywhere.  She's my little running buddy, my swimming buddy, my Starbuck's buddy, and my snuggle buddy when Cody's gone to work!  Even though she's a momma's girl...she is also very much a daddy's girl!  When Cody is home, she snuggles with him and loves to get love from him.  She sleeps with us at night and only gives him kisses before she snuggles in between us to go to sleep.  On her birthday, we went for a run, then I took her and Trigger over to my parent's house for a swim.  I bought special treats for her birthday, which she gladly shared with her brother and sister as well as her cousins!  Can we say she's a little rotten?!?  Most definitely!

The reason why she is so special to me is because she was a complete surprise from Cody and the first dog that we ever got together as a married couple.  When we got married, Cody already had Sarge, our boxer.  He is definitely the big brother and very protective of both Faith and Trigger.  He's also very protective of us, but he's also a big teddy bear.  All he wants in life is to snuggle up next to you and get his belly rubbed!  Anyways, when we got married I begged Cody to get another dog.  But, all I wanted was a Lab.  I had informed him that I really wanted to get a chocolate Lab., it had to be a girl, and I wanted to name her Faith.  Not at all specific, right?!?!  But, we lived in a one bedroom, one bathroom, 650 sq. ft. townhouse for the first four months that we were married.  Cody had bought it before we started dating, so he really didn't buy it to have another person living there!  It was his little bachelor pad...but I loved it!  But, there was no way that we could add another big dog with us two and Sarge in something so small.  We started looking to buy a house in May, found one right away, and moved in in June.  I had also just gotten my teaching job in Blackwell.  So, we were busy and excited to start the next chapter in our newly married life.  But, I still wanted to add another addition to our family!

Soon after I started teaching, Cody surprised me with making a visit to my school.  I was surprised to see him and also wondered why he had driven 45 miles to see me.  He told me had had a roof to look at in Bronte, which is a town 15 miles from Blackwell.  It made complete sense to me, so I didn't think to ask any more questions.  We visited for a little bit and a few minutes before he was going to leave, he told me that I had gotten postcard in the mail and he had brought it to me because he didn't recognize who it was from.  This is what he handed me:

It was a postcard that Cody had made at the breeder's house when he picked her out!  I was in complete shock!  But as soon as I realized what was happening, I started screaming and jumping up and down!  Mind you, I'm also wearing stilettos...I know you're shocked about that one!  She was only 4 weeks old in this picture, so the torturous part was that we had to wait another 2-4 weeks to get her.  But, in the meantime, I started buying food bowls, pink collars with crystals on them, a leash, etc.  We knew we were going to kennel train her, and thankfully we already had a kennel from when Cody trained Sarge.

I'll never forget the day we went and picked her up in Bronte.  It was Blackwell's homecoming, which is always held on a Saturday so all the alumni can come into town.  Homecoming is a big deal.  The school serves a meal, there is a huge homecoming pep rally, all the players are introduced before the game, and all the other normal homecoming stuff!  All of us faculty and staff members have to sign up for a time to help out with the many events that take place on that day.  I had signed up to help with picking up after lunch.  When I was finished, there was still about 2 hours before the game started.  My parents were with Cody and I that day and so I decided to call the breeder and see if we could just come by and see her.  When I called, he told us that they had had their final shots that morning and the vet. cleared them to be picked up!  He was getting ready to call everyone and let us know!!!  When we got there and I saw her...it was instant love at first sight!  She was so little and fluffy!  She was so sweet and just slept in my arms the entire night.  Cody said that when he picked her out, he knew she was made just for us because she just sat there patiently and looked up at him while he was looking at all the little puppies.  When he went over to her and picked her up, she nestled into him and he was hooked!  Needless to say, this has not changed for either of us!

Faith has such a fun little personality!  She isn't as lively as Trigger, but she is sweet and sensitive.  She now wears a camo. collar and loves to go swimming in the river at our ranch in Comfort.  She is completely spoiled rotten...and I'm pretty sure she knows it!   I take her every where with me.  Cody and I are so very lucky to have these three loves in our life...and we had so much fun celebrating Faith's 3rd birthday!

Little Faith when she was just a tiny puppy!

Faith getting bigger and loving on her big brother!

These are some of the pictures of Faith and Cody when we took her down to the Guadalupe River...she loved it!!!  She is also in the pool with her Uncle Michael and playing with her bone at our house!

My sweet love on her 3rd Birthday!  Sarge isn't in any of these pictures because he hates the pool!  (I'll save that story for another post!)

Happy Birthday my little Princess!!!  We love  you so, so much!!!

Let Freedom Ring

So, I know that July 4th was well over a month and a half ago.  But, I've had the lazy bug when it has come to blogging, so I'm just now catching up!  First, I just want to say how thankful I am to live in a country where our freedom has been fought for by so many  brave women and men.  They risk, and some have given, their lives each and everyday so that we can enjoy the true blessings that God has given to us.  Our freedom has always been bought, starting with Jesus giving his life on the cross to save us from our sins.  The women and men that serve this country stand up for what they believe in so that we may all live in a country where we truly can experience freedom.

I can't remember the last time we haven't gone to my Grandma's house in Kerrville for the July 4th holiday and this year was no different.  It is usually filled with going to the cute little July 4th parade in Comfort, TX (where our land is), shooting off fireworks down at the place, and lots of fun, relaxation, and eating.  The boys always stay down at the place and typically get some hunting in while we relax and go into town with my Grandma.  This year, our July 4th trip was a little different.  It has been so hot and dry lately that we didn't do anything that we normally do.  The boys were too hot to venture out much into the pasture, and the fireworks have been banned pretty much all across the state because there hasn't been any rain since April.  My mom and I did cook a lot.  We made tons of food so that my Grandma could have a lot of meals to keep in her freezer so that she wouldn't have to worry about cooking.  But, those aren't the only things that were different this year about the holiday. 

We found out back in May that my Grandma has ovarian cancer.  Before we found out that she had cancer, we thought that it was just a pinched nerve in her groin area.  She had been re-potting plants in the backyard and woke up the next morning hardly able to walk.  My aunt took her to the doctor and they just gave her some mild pain medication to try and get her to recover.  When it wasn't getting any better, they did an MRI and did find that she had a pinched nerve that was causing so much pain in her leg, hip, and groin area.  It was still giving her problems, so they finally did a CAT scan and that's when they found the tumor.  They did some blood work and her white blood cell count was extremely high.  Her doctor recommended a fantastic doctor in San Antonio and she scheduled an appointment to go and see him and find out the next steps that needed to be taken.  My dad, my aunt, and my grandma went together to the appointment and the doctor confirmed that it was cancer and laid out the game plan for the steps that would need to be taken next.  She has now had two rounds of chemo. treatments and has lost pretty much all of her hair.  We aren't quite sure how much the cancer has progressed, but we do know that it's pretty severe.  The tumor is so large that they wanted to proceed with 6 chemo. treatments to try and reduce the tumor before they attempted to remove it with surgery.  She has been feeling fairly well given the circumstances and we are all hoping that the chemo. treatments reduce the tumor so that she is able to have surgery to get it removed.  Her last treatment will be in October.  So, as soon as she has her last treatment and meets with her doctor again, we will find out if she is able to proceed with the surgery.  We are remaining faithful and know that God has a plan for all of this and we trust in Him each and everyday.