Spring Was Good While It Lasted

May is here and so is the 90 degree weather.  Spring was good while it lasted!  March and April gave us good opportunities to get outside and "play" (1) because the weather was fantastic and (2) because Matt had more free time (yay!).  A few weekend things we did was visit the Fort Worth Zoo with Brock & Stefanie, then they came down here and we ate at/walked around Homestead Heritage.   We also took lots of neighborhood walks and "hikes" in the arboretum and big city park.  Here are some pictures from a few of our excursions and a funny one of Rowdy in the kitchen:

It's Here.

May 2009 is here.  The month we’ve been hoping in and planning around since August 2004.  That hope hasn’t failed us, but the planning part, well… (Insert sarcastic laugh here).  We have been continually reminded that we can’t really plan our future.  We can only prepare for it.  Matt will receive his hard earned degree from Baylor on May 15^th, but when we wake up on May 16^th, your guess is as good as mine as to how life will unfold.  The past few weeks have possibly shed some light on what the future will be, but nothing is set in stone.  That is half exciting and half frustrating.  Exciting because it gives us lots of opportunity to trust God’s plan.  Frustrating because we can’t give anyone a definite answer about anything when it comes to making plans with them.  Months of replying to various logistical questions with “We don’t know,” can be taxing on us and others.  The bottom line is, we just don’t know.  And we ask for your patience and understanding as we wait only with pencil marks on our calendars.  We’ll be sure to let you know when we can start using ink J

A Few Bargains

These are a few recent bargain purchases I'm extra proud of.  The plum dress came from Goodwill for $16 with an original Macy's $69 tag still on it.  The jacket came from a consignment store for $15 with the Old Navy tags still on it.  And I spent less than $10 each on the antique porcelin rose bookends and a set of 10 etched glasses.  Woo hoo!!!  My favorite are the bookends... I've wanted some for a long time (we have boocoodles of books in our home) and these are my fun "Yellow Rose of Texas" souvenir ones that I'll remember our TX days by for years to come :0)

We're a redneck family

we ain't no high class peeps

We're just products of our raising and

We say, 'hey ya'll' and 'yee-haw'

We keep our Christmas lights up

On the front porch all year long...

Well, at least until the amaryllis bulbs begin blooming.

A Few Photos

The ongoing round-about construction in front of our apartment, St. Patrick's Day spritz cookies, Rowdy's sleeping position of choice, & Skype group picture with some of my best buddies.

Growing Family

My cousin Kerry had her first baby this past November (on Matt's birthday as well) and Grandad got to meet him for the first time last week.  They live in CA and MO so hopefully I'll get to meet the baby before he's too grown up!  Wyatt is the first great-grandchild/2nd cousin in the family.  Very special :0)

Two Good Websites

Two good websites I've wanted to share for a while are:

www.supercook.com

www.smartsource.com

Supercook helps you come up with recipes based on what is in your kitchen.  Smartsource is a coupon & savings website I get a kick out of. 

While on the topic of food & shopping.  I do not like grocery shopping at the Walmart in Waco.  I intermittently fall victim to  their convenient location and I smile as I breeze through the easy-to-get-around-in-isles and find exactly what I need at a very good price and quality.  But, I continually fight my instinct to abandon every ounce of tact in me and gawk at the melting pot of unique shoppers that flock inside.  It is an American epidemic and I don't like it.  

March's Mysteries & Surprises

Tonight is the last of many of its kind...  It's 11:00, I'm watching HGTV and Matt has been on campus with Dr. Cleaver since 7:30 ish.  There have been many nights similar to this during the past handful of years, but tonight marks the beginning of the end.  In preparation for submitting it to the Baylor Graduate School tomorrow morning, they are putting the finishing touches on Matt's dissertation.  Oh.  My.  Gosh.  Has his 5 year program really almost come to a close?  If I'm in awe of it, I know he is.  As the month of March begins, so does the end of our life as we know it.  All Matt has ever done is school and therefore the only thing I've known him to be is a student.  We don't know life with each other any other way and it's been fabulous thus far, but goodness gracious are we excited to learn differently!  Right now all we know is that his resume is circulating from coast to coast  and graduation is on May 15th... after that only the Lord knows.  

Were you as surprised as I was to hear about (or experience) the southern snow that made it all the way down to Dothan today?  Wow.  

Here's what I know; God (1) keeps us on our toes by revealing the details of our lives in his timing and (2) always offers little musings along the way like spring snow in Alabama.  

Bring it on, March.