Ahhh, Christmas!

Well folks, this Christmas was crazy and fun! Jesse and I had the pleasure of packing up and moving back home for our Christmas present to each other. On December 17th, we headed back to Arizona. Shortly after our great move we were able to celebrate the joyous holiday with all of our family. First, we had a lovely time with Jesse's mom and her side of the family. We have had the woderful pleasure of learning a great deal about Jesse's new step-dad, Shawn and his upbringing in Pakistan. We both recieved wonderful gifts from his home country including a traditional outfit for each of us. I must say we make quite a pair! It was also great to be able to spend time with his brother and his family, and the grandparents. We always have a great time together - lots of laughter! After that we headed up to see my parents new place in Lakeside. We were both thrilled to see my parents dream of a cabin in the woods finally come true. It is a little piece of heaven to be up at their house. It was a very special Christmas to be able to spend it with my brother and his family, and my grandparents. We had a blast in the snow and even gave life to our new found friend - the snowman Harvey! I know that we are both looking forward to many more good times up there. Finally, we made our way to Payson to spend one more fantastic night with Jesse's dad, step-mom and his siblings. We had such a great time waking up on Christmas morning to see the looks on Riley and Garret's faces when they discovered all that Santa had brought to them.

We made some wonderful and life long memories this blessed Christmas season! It still just amazes me how the Lord could be so gracious and send us the most precious gift of all time - His son. It always humbles me to know that God could have made such a grand entrance for his son and yet he chose a small manger to lay the King of Kings. I hope that I never loose sight of the real meaning behind this holiday and never take for granted that God did this for me. I pray blessings on all my family and friends this upcoming year - we love you all!

Thanksgiving 2007!!

We had a wonderful day this year. It will be our last in Lubbock and we were able to spend it with some wonderful friends. Not only was the day wonderful, it also started to snow! It was the most picture perfect Thanksgiving. We prepared lots of wonderful dishes and ate until we were stuffed. I am really going to miss the cold when we are back in Arizona, but I am happy that we had the opportunity to experience such a wonderful time this year! Here are a few pictures from our day. Enjoy!!

Camping trip, October, 2007

Jesse and I went camping at White River Lake in Texas this weekend. We went with our frineds, Corey and Summer and their kids, Kobie and Cohen. It was a wonderful weekend and went very smoothly. The kids (who are 6 and 3) had a wonderful time and were perfect angels on their first camping trip. It was so nice to get away from TV, traffic, work and school for a couple of days. I think it's important for everyone to take a few days to themselves to regroup and refresh. Also, it helps to remember and appriciate the simple things in life. Here are a couple of pictures from the trip. I hope you enjoy!!

As promised, here is a new picture of me!! Jesse and I are going camping next weekend and I just got a new battery for my Minolta camera. It's been a while since I've tried my hand at any photography, but I'll be experimenting a little this weekend. Hopefully I'll get a few pictures that are worthy of posting!!

just a quick update....

Well, it's been a while since I've posted so I thought I'd just give a quick update. I started my student teaching on Sept. 4th and it's going well so far. It's going by fast too! Jesse and I have officially put the house up for sale and we are desperately praying for someone to come and buy it before we have to move in two and a half months. We also drove around and took some new pictures so I will be posting a few of those before long here. We are both just very busy right now and enjoying life as it comes to us. I'll keep you posted; God bless to all!

Harry Potter

I just finished the Harry Potter series and I've got to say that it was one of the best I've ever read! There are many people out there who have their opinions about the books, but I really don't think you can judge a book by it's cover. It is a great story, well written, and well worth the reading. I found myself turning page after page just to see what happens next. At no time did I ever feel that my Christianity was being compromised because I chose to read these stories. I have had many discussions with people who have never looked beyond the cover of Harry Potter tell me that it is not Christian and we should not fill children's heads with such things; however, they have no problem reading "The Chronicles of Narnia"! There are many similarities between the two, but for some reason, most Christians accept the latter and reject the former. I thoroughly enjoyed the books and I do plan on sharing the magic and adventure with my children someday. The choice is yours, but my vote is for Harry Potter; take a chance, read the books and find out for yourself!

A nice hot cup of coffee...

One of my favorite things in life is to sit down with a friend and have a nice hot cup of coffee. A lot can happen during these times. Secrets can be shared, burdens can be lifted, and advice can be given. I think it is vitally important to find someone to share these kinds of moments with. I have a friend here in Lubbock that partakes of these coffee breaks with me. Her name is Summer and we have taken to meeting at Starbucks on Fridays after our weeks are all over and there is usually much to talk about. It is a wonderful time to unwind from the week gone by and be able to fully enjoy the weekend ahead. The $1.55 I spend each Friday for a cup of java is well worth it! Find a friend and find some time and see just how meaningful a nice hot cup of coffee can be!

umm, pictures??

I have noticed as I've looked through my pictures that there are very few of me. Possibley because I'm always the one taking the pictures! I need to get someone else to take some pictures of me then I will post some more up to date photos!