Six more days...

A week from today at this precise moment, I will be getting off of a plane at O'Hare to embark on what Bryan and I hope to be a very peaceful and relaxing week. Tuesday, September 6, we will be leaving mid morning to go to Chicago, Illinois. Bryan went last summer when his kids (employees) got a chance to go to E&A Nationals but I've never been, always wanted to go though. I love baseball and there are three parks that I have always wanted to visit. One is Yankee Stadium which I at least got to see before they rip it to shreds (big dummies), two is Wrigley Field and the other is Fenway. It's funny because I don't really like any of the teams but the fields man, GREAT players have played there and it's so surreal to me. So, we're going to the Cubs/Astros game while we're there so I can experience a Cubs game, I hear it's unlike any other. We're sitting in the outfield by the famous ivy, so exciting!!! :) I can't get too excited about catching a Pence or Berkman homer though because if I do happen to catch said homerun (if they get that lucky), I have to throw it back so I told Bryan I refuse to even try to catch it. Haha! The opposing team comes in through this back alley and they let fans down there and the team will sign autographs and stuff so I'm hoping to get some cool pictures.

We're also looking forward to doing a WHOLE lot of sightseeing since Bryan didn't get to do much on the trip he took last summer. I'm looking forward to so much of it. We found out that the city has these cards called 'go chicago cards' and we looked into them and they're pretty awesome I must say. They are $100/person which almost deterred us on the whole idea because that is a lot of money for us but we decided to get them. They are chock full of tickets to: the aquarium, the planetarium, boat tours down Lake Michigan, art museums, LegoLand (I realize I might be seen as a dork for how cool I think this place is), hop on/hop off tours of the city, admission to Navy Pier and so, so, so much more. We figured that with all of the places we wanted to go, we would actually end up spending way more than $100/person on just attractions alone so it turned out to be a really good deal! I'm really excited about Navy Pier. It honestly sounds a little like a carnival but that picture just makes it seem incredible.

If you've ever been to Chicago and have suggestions on neat (inexpensive ;)) things to do, let us know; we want to get as much as we can out of this experience! I can't wait to share our experiences with all of you!!

It's Gone to the Dogs

Sunday: It actually feels nice out so I grab one of our dogs, Hunners, and we go take a run together. It's a little warm but nothing like the 100+ degree heat we've been having lately. Well, we get home (she's fat and tired, I'm tired from having to practically drag her) and I'm helping Bryan decipher the garage door opener directions since we are trying to install it ourselves. I look out in the yard and there is this little yippie dog, one of those that Paris Hilton would own. It growls and barks and yips at everything and tries to climb your leg...REALLY annoying. I'm a big dog person: labs, golden retrievers not the little prissy dogs. Anyways. Bryan looks at me and is like, we aren't keeping that thing to which I'm like, well, yeah, 4 is enough!! :) So I grab a leash and start going door to door and nobody has ever even seen this dog but it's tiny, it's legs are as long as my finger, it lives around us somewhere. 2hrs later I'm walking down the last street in our neighborhood and this is what proceeds:

guy on the porch: hey, that's cool, your dog looks almost identical to my dog Cooper

me: Hey umm, where is cooper?

guy: he's in our backyard where he stays.

me: does he like to dig?

guy: no cooper is good.

me: are you sure he didn't get out

guy: (lightbulb goes off and he runs to his backyard) oh my gosh the gate got left open but he never runs off.

**he goes in the house just to make sure I guess that this is really Cooper I have**

me: so is this your dog because mine would eat him for a snack

guy: (laughs) hey coop, come home to daddy, daddy loves you

me: (sigh of relief) yep, you're welcome...no problem

Monday: I'm self-training for a 10K. This guy here is one of my running buddies. He looks cute enough, really innocent, sweet as can be. If he was a kid, your grandma would totally pinch his cheeks off. We should have named him Cheetah or Kangaroo or Jaguar, something really fast and bouncy (he's named Parker after Tony Parker of the San Antonio Spurs a.k.a. "Eva's husband" so that will suffice at this point). We have another dog, Hunners, she's a little on the overweight side, something about it being my fault and table food. Usually I run with her because she needs it the most to lose the weight she's carrying around. Well, after dragging her a mile and a half on Sunday I decided to give her the day off and run with Mr. Parker here so I could get more accomplished. Have I mentioned he only weighs 30 lbs less than me? Or that he is as tall as me? Or that he is as strong as a horse? We take off running at MY normal pace. I watch the Dog Whisperer guy and I'm all trying to be in charge and this is a lost cause. We round the corner in our neighborhood and bounding out of the garage comes "Venus", this incredibly hyper border collie. Here I go leash between my legs, trying to look in control but at the same time tripping all over the place just trying not to bust it so I don't go home and Bryan gives me the "I told you so" speech about showing the dogs who is dominant. Well, anyways the owner comes roaring out of his garage yelling Venus, no, get back here Venus and to say the least Parker is finding her very interesting and I'm trying to get control of my beast of a dog and somewhere in all of this I somehow end up on my butt in the middle of the street while my dog runs off to play with this girl dog. At this point I want to cry but instead I lay in the middle of the street and laugh instead. I yell at Parker, "You get over here right now, do not make me chase you" as if he knows exactly waht I just said, he cowers over like Golden Retrievers do when they are/think they are in trouble. At that point all I could think was hey, at least my dog knows how to listen...

A New House

I think there is a reason they give you a month off to not pay your mortgage when you first buy a home. 4 ceiling fans, 1 garage door opener, 1 refrigerator, and lots of deposits later I'd say it is a little overwhelming! I didn't realize HOW MUCH you NEED to buy for a home and this is straight up needs we're talking about (ok, maybe not the ceiling fans but come on, it's Texas for crying out loud). There is a plus to all of this "going green" though because you get lots of rebates and gift cards for buying energy star appliances. It paid for said garage door opener and weather proofing the fence; well it HELPED pay for that stuff. I never realized how much it costs to weather proof a fence. GEEZ!!!! I'll have to take pictures of the house soon with all of our stuff in it. Here is the outside for now. We are so ecstatic to be in our home, it really is a blessing! :) We just bought rocking chairs for the front porch, so adorable - gotta love Super HEB everyday low prices ;). Updates to come!!

Life is a Rollercoaster

God, let me be a vessel, let my cup be full and overflowing, let my life be a light for the people around me, give me strength to reach out, to comfort, to love with everything in me, prepare the hearts and lives of those around me so that when they see me, they will see your face and experience your unending grace and mercy. Thank you for trusting me in the trials and tribulations of life so that I may help bring your joy, comfort and peace to others...

2 Corinthians 1:3-7

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.

opening my eyes

Ahhh. Public Transportation. It's a beautiful thing. (Can you hear the sarcasm?) For all intents and purposes, it is not bad at all, it's actually quite relaxing! So, it may not be beautiful per se but it sure does make for a calmer commute.


So with that being said, I have about 2 hours a day to do SOMETHING with, anything. Reading has not ever been a pastime/hobby of mine, I have actually spent a lot of time avoiding it. However, I figured it might do me some good, might learn something so I have taken this up to pass the time as I travel back and forth to work each day.


When I first moved to Austin, a friend of mine tried to give me a book called "Boundaries". I had just met this person, was very on guard, all defenses up, parents had just gone through a horrific divorce leaving me to provide stability to my younger brothers and sister, so my first thought as he is handing me this book is: What do you know about my life? This wasn't the best year of my life. I'll give you that. When my parent's marriage fell apart, I fell apart and turned my back on God when I needed him most. I'll spare you the gory details. I started going back to church a little later on, not because I wanted to but I felt I should because I had gone every Sunday of my life and I was starting to feel dirty and empty and I wanted that to go away. That friend I mentioned earlier, this is where he and his wife became my friends. They have mentored me and discipled me and this week (it's been 4 years mind you) I finally felt ready to read that book.


If you haven't read this book, I strongly suggest it. It has opened my eyes to a lot not just with me but also of my surroundings. It is an INCREDIBLE book.


Have you thanked God for your friends? Have you thanked Him for the people He has brought into your life, if even for a season? Have you thanked Him for trusting them to teach you something so new and exciting about Him?

just getting started

I have found that quite a few of my friends have taken up blogging. I've never done this before so I figured I would give it a shot to stay in touch with friends and family, so everybody can see how Bryan and I are doing here in Austin...