The last of the weddings?? Nope, there are more in sight.

We went to Adam and Christina's wedding last night and had a good time. It was a little bit of a nostalgic moment to walk into the same place that we were married-the Regency Garden. Attached are some pictures we took. We pray that Christina and Adam have a blessed and wonderful marriage.







And almost two years for us! They have been the best two years of my life :)


Their vows...

Dogs shed too much

This is what happens when I only sweep once a week.

Yes, that is dog hair.

Destiny

The Lord has done a mighty work in me, and is continuing to do so. Recently I've struggled with my job, my calling, my destiny. To the point that I cry out, "Lord! What do I do?!" Every person has a God-given destiny, and I'm on the road of my own.

This process has been a time of growth, a time of trial. There are days that I rejoice in only one fact, "My Lord is good," and other days I struggle even getting out of bed and facing the day. But through it all God is working in me. He is working in me.

I started a Bible study by Beth Moore at my church at the beginning of the semester with the main goal of making friends. How much more God has given me! You see I went in with the plans to connect with some people, and God sent me out with new life! He sent me out with new perspective, and a deeper desire to commune with the very being that loves me and knows my every heart's desire. I walked out with a deeper passion to do God's will in my life. Such a simple statement but packed with a punch. To do God's will in MY life.

I highly recommend studies by Beth Moore. She's an incredible lady and dives into the deepest parts of the Bible, the biblical truths that we all need to hear. This particular study was on the book of Esther. Do you know that there is no word mention of God in Esther? Yet his name is written ALL OVER IT! Esther was a woman, a human, who took the courage God offered her-she took it! and fulfilled her destiny.

"And who knows (italics added by me) whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" God knows. God KNOWS! And in my own life God knows that I have come to this place for such a time as this.

Through this study I've have learned so much about the desires of my heart. I've learned about God's way of destiny-Lord why am I here? And Fear-even the fear of death. But death is not our destination, it's merely a part of our destiny. And if God be glorified in death-WHICH HE ALREADY CONCURRED!-then I will be courageous.

"The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever." ~Ps. 138:8

The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me. And I don't know about you, but God is the one person I can trust in for doing what he says!

"May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble! May the name of the God of Jacob protect you! May he send you help from the sanctuary and give you support from Zion!...May he grant your (CHECK THIS!) heart's desire and fulfill all your plans! (italics added by me)" Ps. 20:1-4

God could not have put this in a more perfect order: First he will answer in the day of trouble, then he will protect, AND support! And last he will grant your HEART'S DESIRE. Wow. When I go through a trial, a time of growth I need to hear these words. That my Lord will hear me, protect me, support me, and fulfill what I desire so deeply.

I desire to fulfill my God-given destiny. I don't know entirely what that entails yet-I'm still walking the road. But Praise the LORD I know God is with me. And he loves me. Thank you Lord. Thank you.

Patrick thinks he's real funny. I'm innocently sleeping, and...

I guess I'm just glad he didn't take a video of me snoring.

Series 7 DONE!

I love my husband. I'm so proud of him for studying so hard for his test at work and passing by a landslide! He began this profession (banking/financial) only one short year ago. Since then he has claimed promotion after promotion. At this rate, he'll be to his final career goal at the end of 3 years! I'm so proud of him for doing what he wanted to do regardless of what others might think or say. (Although the people that know him best know that financial things were always his strong suit). I love him.





Of course we had to celebrate at Z-Tejas-this is a big deal! To the wonderful man in my life, Patrick, who continues to amaze me by his perseverance, character, love and ability to inspire those around him-especially me.

2nd Anniversary

Patrick and I got an idea from a couple while we were living in Flagstaff on how to celebrate anniversaries. They said celebrating their marriage was really important to them, and having an element of surprise is sometimes fun too. So every year they switch off who is going to plan the anniversary festivities. They've gone to Sea World, spent a couple of days in a nice hotel, gone on a road trip, lots of different things. No matter how big or small the plans (some years require a slightly smaller celebration as we all know), they always enjoy going together and spending time together.

So, we've taken that idea on as our own. I have odd years (1,3,5, etc.) and Patrick has even years. Last year was my year to plan and since it was our paper year I got us tickets to see The Lion King at Gammage. Plus, Patrick picked up Cheesecake Factory and we ate a delicious dinner (while I was listening to high schoolers audition for the musical). So I wasn't able to take off the whole day, but it was really romantic (at least I thought).

This year is Patrick's year to plan, and we're going to.......SONOMA!!

Doesn't it look beautiful!?! We're planning to go right after Christmas (Patrick has time off then). And I'm so excited. So so excited. Even more excited for this than Christmas and Thanksgiving :o)

Mt. Lemon

Last weekend we went with the Sims...I mean...Andersons :o) to hike Mt. Lemon. It was so much fun! My alarm went off around 7am and I turned it off. I guess subconsciously I couldn't make any sense of waking up so early when I was on vacation. Anyhow, we got a late start but finally got on the road. We decided to take the back road instead of I-10, and ended up stopping in Florence. I know, I know, not the best idea. Patrick and I are in the car a lot. Sometimes going to California, sometimes Flagstaff, but whenever we go for a road trip we always stock up on sunflower seeds. Which is the reason we stopped in Florence: sunflower seeds. So we pull up to some no-name gas station and Patrick goes inside to get the goods while I stay in the car with the dogs. Patrick is inside the store and a guy from the truck next to us is getting back into his vehicle. He gets in, and begins to open his bag of beef jerky with a knife. A KNIFE THE LENGTH OF MY ARM!!!! Ok, not my whole arm, but about 18"! Excuse me, what bag of beefy goodness is so hard to open you have to use a machete to get the insides?! So Patrick returns with some ice tea and sunflower seeds and I book it out of there. On to Tucson. So we finally get to Tucson and we caravan with Becca and Ryan to Mt. Lemon. Boy we had a blast with them! They're newly married like us...okay well they're newly married and don't have kids. And the best part is all four of us get along. I guess I never really thought about the importance of you and your spouse getting along with a friend and their spouse until I got married. Alright, back to the story. So we went for a hike and it was beautiful. I posted some pictures from our trip. Oh vacation-I love it.

The Fair!

I haven't been to the AZ State Fair since I was a kid. Honestly, I can only remember going once. So when Emily Greco said, "hey come with me and my sister!" I jumped at the chance. And let me tell you, I had so much fun. This is what we did:

Looked at all the exhibits
Watched a pig race
Walked all around
And at the following (yes, all of it): Funnel Cake, Apple Fries, Pulled Pork Sandwich, Pineapple Whip, and Fried Snickers.

The food was amazing, seriously. Fried Snickers-I highly recommend it! (And who would've thought?!?)

Kiri Graduated!

You CAN teach a dog new tricks!

Patrick and I have been taking our dogs (separately) to puppy training. They're almost 2 years old, and this is our second round for the training, but by golly Kiri made it through. These pictures are from her graduation. Both dogs are getting better and better about listening. They still dig-but now they're in a part of the backyard that I don't mind them digging in :o)

Wedding number....I lost track

Patrick and I went to another wedding. Rachel Van Winkle and Phillip Giampietro. How's that for a last name? I get Jones and she gets Giampietro, lol. It's okay Patrick thinks it's funny too. Anyway! Rachel's wedding was incredible.

The best part was in the middle of the ceremony when the pastor said, "Let's pray. Dear Lord, we ask your blessing on this marriage (insert HUGE THUNDER STRIKE!!!)...(short pause)...amen." I think he was speechless after that and thought nothing could top that, no matter how spiritual or intelligent sounding. And I'd have to agree.

Rachel was gorgeous, the wedding was totally reflecting of God's love. We wish them both a life full of blessing, joyful days and precious time spent getting to know each other.

Second Year

No posts lately, that's because...you guessed it...school started.

Another year has begun and it has started with promises of being much easier than the last. By easier I mean, I feel like I half way know what I'm doing this year. Last year I was in the "ready to go" mode, this year it's more like, "ok, this is what will probably happen." The first couple of days were quite refreshing.

I haven't completely gotten into the swing of things, there are always curve balls thrown at my face from time to time, but overall I feel like a much more calm and happy individual. Could it be that I just had two whole months to rest? I do believe this is part of it. I also think I'm going into this year with a slightly different attitude. I say, "what happens, happens." I'm much better about separating work and home, and I suppose it will only get better. Plus, I'm realizing some things are out of my control. Those things I can't change I try not to worry about. And the things I have any control over-well, I put forth my best.

This year will certainly bring it's own challenges, the first one I see on my list is tour. But hey, what happens happens. I'm thinking at the end of this year I'll be able to look back and say, "ah, another one down, another one to learn from" and who knows, maybe I'll make a difference in a life or two. Here's to a year better than the last.

Too much TV?

Oh the Bachelorette...

So I admit that since I've been home this summer I've watched a little more TV than during the school year. One of the worthy shows of my time: The Bachelorette. You know it's funny, after watching every episode of this season I notice a lot of red flags between her interaction with all these different guys. I suppose being married contributes to my views on a "good relationship," but it's certainly a lot easier to look in on someone else's relationship and say, "woah, just wait a minute." (It is being televised-isn't that what they want us to do??). So what do you think...

"Do you have a girlfriend waiting for you back at home?"
"I never said I have a girlfriend to him"

Ok let's think here. Avoiding the question, NOT a good sign. And what do ya know, he did have a girlfriend. A word comes to mind...DUH!

"You're someone I could spend the rest of my life with"

Someone I COULD?! Someone I want to spend the rest of my life with...The only one I could spend the rest of my life with...I can't imagine my life without you...ANY of those would have clearly been a better alternative. Especially since there's another guy who's about to propose after you leave, come on now.

"I should've told her I loved her"

Yes, you always should. :)

Reality shows are hysterical.

.................................................................................

So another show I've been watching is (don't laugh) Bridezilla. Now this show is really something. I'll set the scene for you: imagine a person you've seen with a ridiculous amount of road rage, multiply it by 320 and change road rage to wedding plans. Yes, this show reveals the true beasts in white dresses and tiaras. These brides throw gifts across the room, yell at their moms for doing their highlights wrong, demand everything you could think of, and my favorite...one bride didn't even write her vows for her own wedding. She didn't forget, she just didn't want to promise anything. HOW CAN YOU MARRY SOMEONE LIKE THAT?!
Honestly, if Patrick said very nonchalantly, "I didn't write any vows" I think it's safe to say that I would have walked out on him. Not writting vows is like saying, "I don't care to promise you anything, our relationship will be whatever you make of it, and I'm the most important person in this relationship." No thanks, not for me.
Patrick was watching one episode with me and he almost fell off the couch when he heard one bride say, "Are you telling me I'm not worth $30,000." Aparently the bride was appalled at the idea that her fiance wouldn't buy her the ring she wanted, $30,000. I looked over at Patrick and said, "How much do you love me now?" to which he promptly responded, "I would never marry that." He was a little repulsed by the show.

Incredible that people can be so selfish, so demanding, so uncaring about others that they will do anything to get what they want. Is this really the world we live in? I believe it is.

Patrick is reading this apologetics book, and he read me this one part that really struck home. It said,
...people like to blame God for the hunger in the world, the evil people commit against each other, the poor living situations in third world countries. Just for a moment think about what the world would be like if we all followed one of God's greatest commandments-Love one another. If we were all loving one another, why wouldn't we provide food for those starving? People not "starving" consume most of the earth's food supply, and they are the minority. They have an excess that, if it were given to those who were hungry, would feed the rest of the earth.

So you see, if we only ate what was necessary and gave the rest away to those that can't afford it...get this...no one would go hungry. No one. Let that sink in for a while.

So what are you doing to love your neighbor? Or are you going to be lumped in with the selfish ones? A hard question to ask yourself, but I think it's worth asking.

Spontaneous is my middle name

My friend Meryl and I decided on a whim that we needed to go out and do something. It just happens that the "something" was painting pottery (Meryl's recommendation). It was a blast! I had never been to As You Wish before so Meryl gave me the lowdown, then the fun began! I'm not really sure how my mug is going to look. I'll let you know when I get it back tomorrow. Tomorrow Meryl and I are having another fun day together. Can't wait!





Here's to being spontaneous!

Now is perfect

I am just really enjoying my life. God has blessed us with a beautiful house, and recently, means to begin decorating that house. I'm enjoying this time off from work after a tough first year. But mostly I just feel really good with where I'm at in everything. I wouldn't have it any other way. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complacent or at a standstill. But I am definitely loving where I am right now. Patrick and I are continuing to grow together in love. I must say I love this relationship called marriage. Not just because I like the idea, but because I'm getting to know the person I love most everyday in a different way. It's really quite remarkable. And boy do we have fun! We go out on dates, go tubing, camping, to the movies, road trips, all kinds of stuff! Having fun in marriage is important I think. It's not worth it to let these precious moments go by without enjoying them! Who knows when you'll get thrown a curve ball.

Why all the sentimental feelings? Well...I just finished that wedding scrapbook (the past) and last night I heard of another friend getting pregnant (hopefully my future someday)...and I think, right now in this moment-this is the perfect time and perfect place for me. It's perfect. Tessa actually reminded me of this the other day. I had a status posted on Facebook that said, "I have a knot in my stomach when I think about having to go back to work soon. Is that normal?" Tessa, being a veteran teacher and a friend said, "This year will be better. God has you there for a reason! You are needed in that place." And that comment made me think how right she is. I am here for a reason. I am in this place for a reason. And as I reread that statement, it actually made me smile because I know that God knows best. Thank you Lord for knowing me better than I know myself, and for blessing me with so much. Amen.
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On a different note, I needed to post these pictures of the dogs. Every time I walk into the kitchen they're sitting patiently for me, waiting for any food that might drop. One night I was washing some cherries and had a brilliant idea...







maybe I'll have my dogs dress up as Rudolph for Halloween this year :o)

One down, two more to go!

Patrick and I have now been married 1.5 years, and I've come to a milestone already! I finished my parents' scrapbook of our wedding pictures! I know, I know, it took me a while. But I say better late than....by the time we have kids.

My summer vacation is slowly slipping away from me, and I know I won't be able to finish Patrick's parents' scrapbook this summer. Afterall, it took me 1.5 years to do one! And who knows when I'll even start my own. I do know one thing: I must finish them both before kiddies come along. I'm reading all my friends' blogs and Facebook profiles of those who are new parents, and there seems to be one theme: no sleep. So I, being as smart as I am, have put two and two together. No sleep+ new baby= scrapbook finish date severly delayed. So I better get to it.

Here's how I break it down:

2 more scrapbooks left @ about 1.5 years each = 3 years or so

in 3 years I'll be 27...perfect!

Here's to more scrapbooking!

(Yes I was kidding about all of that planning and kid stuff).

We just came back from vacation and it was a blast! Here's the lowdown.

Wednesday began the wedding extravaganza. Becca and Ryan's wedding that is. Meryl and I traveled down to Tucson to help set up for the reception, do little errands and anything Becca needed. When we first got there Becca didn't have much for us to do so I forcefully, err...convincingly persuaded Meryl to go get her haircut. She was pretty reluctant to do it, but when all was said and done, her hair looked great. (I think she secretly loves it :o) Then Thursday was the bachelorette party, but really was more like bachelorette DAY. Here are some of the silly things we did:

La Paloma-where we had the party!

Scavenger Hunt-spelling BRIDE & Bathroom picture



Here's a video from the Bachelorette party (the rest are on facebook). We ordered a Whopper and Margarita from McDonalds.



Beautiful bride and groom at the rehearsal & Right before walking down the aisle.



Erin and I-bridesmaids & Totally candid picture. Adorable.




Love this girl! & More bridesmaids



Having fun at the reception & Me and my husband :o)


Toby-good high school/ college buddy & This would have been a good picture, TOBY!


The morning AFTER Becca's wedding, Patrick and I woke up early and made our way via car to California for wedding number 2: Colby and Ashley Wakeman's. We got to Fullerton, took a 30 minute break, then got dressed for the wedding. I think my favorite part was Moose (their dog) was the ring bearer. He had a little tux and top hat. He was adorable. Ashley was gorgeous, and it was a great party.

Wakeman Wedding:

Andrew and Jestina Ready for wedding #2


Ashley and Colby-they're married!


After both of those weddings I promised Patrick we could have a "do nothing day." So Monday we did nothing. Tuesday we went to Knott's Berry Farm (because I had never been), we had a blast at Knott's. Toward the end of the day we bought some delicious caramel apples and sat down in the Knott's Saloon to eat. We stayed for the little saloon show, but it wasn't so great. We still had a blast riding roller coasters that outdo Disneyland's rides any day.



But the vacation doesn't end there! Wednesday morning the Joneses woke up nice and early to begin our family camping trip to Morro Bay. All of Patrick's family went camping together and it was a lot of fun. It was actually my first time camping in a tent and I enjoyed it-but told Patrick that 4 days is probably my limit for tent sleeping (just for future reference). I really got to know Patrick's family even more, which is always a good thing. There's something about a campfire and minimal technology that brings people together in an "old fashioned" kind of way. Here are some pictures from camping.





All in all I would say our vacation was wonderful. Now my next task is decorating my home. New pictures to come soon!