Opportunities

I don't always understand what God has going on. I don't get it all the time. I don't think we should get it. I think it keeps me on a pursuit of Him. These past few weeks have left me utterly confused though.

I have been searching for a design job for months. I finally got an interview. I finally got a job. I love it more than words can explain.

My husband randomly applied for a job. Not randomly. He applied for an amazing opportunity for himself. He got the interview. In Dallas. Not Austin.

Lots of prayers. Lots of questions. Pray for us.

I want to be completely open to what God has for us. Really need to get out of the way. If Dallas is it, then Dallas here we come. We want Him to use us.

It's a hard thought to swallow that Austin may not be that place. Love it here. Love the heat. Love the people. Love the "weird". Love the Longhorns. Love the diversity. Love everything about it.

God, please teach me to love wherever it is you want us.

Lots going on!!

Man, May was a crazy month for me - so crazy that I just feel like I have finally recuperated. I decided to take the summer off from school just so I don't hit overload and completely lose it because I came pretty close towards the end of last semester, that's for sure! I had to take 12 hours to get my new loan so I could put it into a savings account and finish paying for the rest of my school with it as I go.

I got my acceptance letter from Texas State. I called about my new student orientation that I'll need to go to and the lady was like, wow, you're a senior, wow, you've been a senior for five years. Thanks, make me feel better. Haha! I'll probably end up staying at the community college to get all of the lower level courses done in an "easier" environment. So, the plan is to major in Computer Science with a teaching certificate. That way, if I don't like teaching then I can always go back to working somewhere else in my actual field of knowledge.

I'm thinking about applying for the ESPN internship next fall. It's an internship in graphic design. I'm pretty excited about it. My dream job is to work at ESPN the Magazine. I know, I know, I'm a strange girl, whatever. :)

On a different note, my sister is majorly showing now. You can definitely tell she's pregnant now. Is it weird that I am so in love with that little baby boy inside of her and I don't even know him yet? I just want to squeeze his little cheeks off already. He's so fiesty. Anytime Alyssa has get a sonogram or they have to listen to his heart, he runs away from the monitor or karate chops it. During her first sonogram, it looked like he was standing up and hugging her which if you're a mom, you know that isn't the best position for that little booger to be in. He's been more cooperative lately at the doctor, still karate chops though. :) She has a mini her inside of her I say. I'm excited about the thought of being an aunt and so sad at the same time that I will be five hours away from baby Austin.

That's it for now, I'll update again soon because this isn't the half of what's been going on, just all I have time to share for now!

For the love of Baseball!!

On to the updates...

Going to Wrigley Field last year has completely ruined baseball for me. We went to Houston this weekend to see my little bro for his birthday and he wanted to go to an Astros game. We packed up the 11 of us and went. It was horrible. It was raining. The dome was closed. It was NOT baseball so that probably added to my first statement. At Wrigley, everybody is a fan. Not the kind that just wear the t-shirt, I mean, die-hard fans. They made the game so much fun! They could have probably told you the name of the 2nd baseman's dog if you had asked...they just really love their Cubs. It was an awesome experience that I'll never forget. We finally went and stood down by the Crawford boxes and the gas pump by the Pumas and it was maybe 10% of what Wrigley was like but it made the game more enjoyable for the moment.

My little sister is 4 months along now. SHE'S HAVING A BOY!! I will be an aunt all too soon! I'm so excited, I can hardly stand it! They are going to name him Austin and I can't wait to see his adorable little face. He was breach on the day that they took the sonogram. It looked like he was hugging Aly. :) I know this isn't a good thing but at least he has some time to move. They saw something on the scans of his little heart that they are concerned with right now so pray for them as they go to their next appointment this week! I'll post some pictures when I get a chance! :) She's starting to show and it's beyond adorable...I'm loving this! I'm ready for it to be my turn! :D

That's it for now!!

The plan has fallen through...

So, we had this amazing plan. We got the Bush "first time home buyer interest free loan". So we're thinking wow, what a great way to pay off all of our debt!!! We'd pay off the credit card, then take that monthly payment and add to what we already pay on my car to get it paid off quicker and when it got paid off, we'd add BOTH of those payments to his car note and it'd be paid off 2 years early. It was amazing. We were excited. Then....

MY CAR BROKE!!!!

No lie! It broke. So much for the genius plan was my first thought and I was bitter but we really prayed about it and after much of that along with time and consideration, we decided to get me a new car that had a warranty on it still. We couldn't afford to fix my car and either way we sliced it, we were going to be upside down on a car payment which is awful and yes, I've been griped out by my parents and a lot of other people for that matter but it wasn't a choice of ours.

Leading up to yesterday, I was so excited. We were getting a 2008 XTerra, well, we DID get it. :D When we got to CarMax though I like, all of the sudden got all girly and emotional. My Rav4 was the first thing that was "ours". We bought it together. Both our names were on the title. Bryan was like, aww, why are you sad? This is supposed to be a happy day so I explained to him and then he was like, oh, well it's ok...this is ours too. Haha. I love him. :)

I'll post pictures when we detail it and make it all pretty. The dealership washed it and sprayed some wax on there in places so we need to remedy that Reno style. :)

We have no other news in the Reno house other than Summer has begun for my husband officially and if I can make it one more month, I'll have much less stress in my life! What doesn't kill you makes you stronger they say...we'll see how that works for me. ;)

Life and Love

For those of you who don't know, my aunt passed away last week. She was not sick, she randomly had a massive heart attack and passed away at the tender age of 41. She was the wife of my dad's brother. She lived a full life. She always had a smile on her face. She was always helping somebody do something. She would put you first ALWAYS and never expect a thing in return. She was a precious lady and my uncle loved her so much! My uncle and I are pretty close so it was hard for me to be there and see him in that much pain; suffering that much. Bryan and I prayed and prayed for him and my cousin. We prayed 2 Cor 1:3-8 constantly asking God for that strength and comfort to give to my uncle and my sweet cousin. I know their loss and I feel their loss but I can't imagine experiencing it on their level.

In the midst of tragedies always comes a rebirth, a new beginning. I'm excited to tell you that my little brother is now engaged and will be married soon. He proposed on Valentine's Day to his girlfriend, Lauren. They are both moving to Houston to begin new careers and a new life together. I'm excited for them and I wish them all the very best!

A Year with C.S. Lewis

I love C.S. Lewis. Granted, it usually takes me a few tries to understand what in the world he is saying, when I get it, I am usually left awed and reminded of how truly powerful our God is. Here is a quote from my "thought for the day".

"For He claims all, because He is love and must bless. He cannot bless us unless He has us. When we try to keep within us an area that is our own, we try to keep an area of death. Therefore, in love, He claims all. There's no bargaining with Him."

Too much

Have you ever found yourself SO tired that even moving around sounds painful and unnecessary? Yeah, I'm there. It is only the second week of school people and I am beyond tired now, I'm downright exhausted. My brain forgot where it's off switch is. I honestly can't stop thinking. When I'm at work, I'm worried about school and if I'm doing everything there to the best of my ability because by the time I get a chance to do any homework, I'm running on fumes. When I'm at school or doing homework, I'm worried that I'm missing something at work, maybe I forgot to return a call or send an email. And all the while I am worrying if my husband feels loved. Am I making a concerted effort to make him feel like he's more important than anything else? Am I making him my top priority? Is our house clean enough? Do I have time to cook dinner? Are his clothes clean? I realize that he's a big kid and can do all of this himself but I absolutely LOVE taking care of him. I want to be the one that washes clothes and cooks and cleans - and he helps, I'm not some 50's house wife. But I'm tired. I'm exhausted. I believe now when my mom said you can do too much, so much that nothing seems good enough...i'm so there. Sorry to dishearten you or be debbie downer but I had to get it out of me. Pray that I have the strength to work 40 hours a week and go to take my 12 hours and do WELL in them, that I can give my husband the attention and love he so deserves. That's it for now...

Dogs are Hilarious

Everybody, Manu; Manu, everybody.

Manu is the reason we started getting dogs (we have 4). We had just gotten back from our honeymoon and we were out shopping with our gift cards we got from the wedding and we came across PetsMart and they were having an adoption day. I'm a sucker for dogs, LOVE them! Well, we were getting ourselves psyched up to give the girl our money and take the little booger home. He was so well behaved. The girl must have known how completely vulnerable we were because she proceeds to tell Manu that he has to leave his sister. WHAT?!? He's related to that adorable little girl in the crate with him? We'll take her too!!! So needless to say, he began our craziness.

Well, the kid is just a slight bit skittish and he definitely does not enjoy watching Bryan pick on me. I think he fully believes its's his God given duty to protect me because he'll whine and bark at Bryan. It's pretty hilarious. At least we know that if anything ever happens to me, I'm pretty sure I'll be safe. All this background to tell you a story that happened last night. I had school and got home pretty late so all 4 of our dogs followed me everywhere I went. I went into our guest room to help my hubby design a logo for his upcoming event at one of his pools and I lay down on the bed because I'm exhausted. Our dogs are not allowed on the bed - not even their paws; keep this in mind. Bryan comes and lays down by me and we're talking about our days and school when he proceeds to tickle me. I'm screaming and yelling like I always do; makes it more fun. This freaks Manu out A LOT!!! He's wimpering and whining and just down right freaking out at this time because of all the shrieks, screams, roaring laughter and I tease and say, "Manu help!! Help me Manu!!" Next thing I know he is on the bed inbetween Bryan and me gnawing at Bryan. We get him off the bed finally and tell him that's a bad thing, NO! Well, Bryan starts at it again and here comes Manu again. He's going to get Bryan if it's the end of him. He got such mixed responses last night. I'm telling him good boy one second for protecting me then having to show him that the bed is a no no. Fun times.

Hope you enjoyed that story! Tata for now!

We're human...

Today has been interesting, I'll say that at least. It's also had me on my knees a lot more than usual. Today is a day for firsts in our nation. Who knows if we'll go in a new direction or the same direction and it's not really our decision. It is however our leaders' decision to make. So, do you pray for them? I struggled with this at first. I know in both testaments we are called to pray for our leaders but didn't really want to pray for Obama and justified it by saying well, he's not really our leader yet. But he is. He is now. I've been devastated today to hear the hatred in the voices of Christians about our new President. I get that he isn't who we wanted, who we prayed for to take that office but he's who our nation chose. He's one of the billions Jesus laid down his life and died for and we owe him our intercessions, our humbled prayers.

President Obama, we're praying for you. God bless you in your next four years. He'll never leave your side. Find comfort in His presence man.

2 Blissful Years

That's right. Two years. It has gone by so quickly; to think that two years ago was our day for a white dress, tuxes, pink roses and black bridesmaid dresses (that drove most people crazy). It was our day to say in front of God and everybody that we pledged our lives to Him and to each other.

This year we celebrated in true Reno fashion. We made plans that didn't quite fall through. We've gotten on a biking kick lately so we took the day off to go biking. We planned on coming home to dress up (for once) and go have a nice, romantic dinner, just the two of us. Our night ended up consisting of taking our four adorable babies to have their yearly vaccines because a vet in the area was doing them for $20 and we ended up saving over $200. Instead of celebrating with each other alone and all romantic, we went to our favorite dive with our new friends/neighbors. Love is better shared. :)

The other element of the anniversary celebration: Spurs vs. Lakers - we got tickets. This is the most exciting game I have ever seen in my life. My first time to see Kobe Bryant live and in person. First time to say hi to Mark Jackson, Jeff VanGundy. First time to truly loathe the colors yellow and purple. It was a tight game, ups and downs, goods and bads and some dang good/lucky shots by all; favorable calls by the refs and then the kinds that made you want to send them packing. It was a great way to celebrate our anniversary; in silver and black.

Some facts about us from these two years:

- I'm going to spend the rest of my life in school - this makes me sad (and quite the exaggerator)

- We wear t-shirts and gym shorts pretty much all the time.

- We have four dogs: yes, we know we're crazy.

- Three of them are over 60 lbs - even crazier, we know.

- We recently painted our bathroom baby blue. We plan to paint over the hideous baby blue VERY soon.

- We like to go biking; me, if it's flat level ground only. ;)

- We love the Spurs!!

- We just bought our first house! Woo hooo!!!

- We had to buy me a bigger car for our four dogs; then Bryan's car broke down - he is not sad.

- I ride the public transportation system. It's not at all like the movies.

- We have a very nice dining table that we only use when guests come. Normally we eat on the floor at our coffee table in the living room so we can watch TV.

- Bryan is an artist and really talented but tells nobody. I have become his voice since he won't.

- We went to the furniture store to buy a mattress and came home with a 7 piece bedroom suite.

Ok, that's it for now.