The Adventures of Halla and Xhaxhi

Adventures with the Missionaries!

2012-02-09T16:55:00.002-06:00

We are lucky to have Sister Missionaries in our Ward and I am even more lucky to have the calling of a Ward Missionary. What does this mean? I end up having lots of fun adventures with them, and there have been a lot lately. Here is just one of those stories:

One day I asked the sisters over for lunch and due to my excellent culinary skills I decided to take them out somewhere. We picked a place and then headed out the door....only to find out that Heath had taken the car and left his usual mode of transportation-the scooter. We looked at each other, we looked at the scooter, and then we walked back inside to figure out what we would do. We tried to see if we could figure out a way for me to go in their car. We read their rule book- it was pretty cut and dry. My only option was-you guessed it-the scooter. Now, take into consideration that my extent of driving the scooter consisted of a few wobbly trials down our street. The place we were going was on an intersection of two major highways, but with back roads the whole may there. I really wanted to take the sisters out so I strapped on my helmet and they jumped in their car and we headed out. I am happy to say that I safely made it there and back, and I know understand Heath's obsession with the scooter-it was fun!

We have some really great missionaries in our area (especially our Ward). They are so kind, giving, and definitely are in tune with the Spirit. I was in the process of putting my papers in to serve a mission for our church when Heath and I met. Obviously I am grateful for meeting Heath and love being married, but I'm grateful for this calling with the missionaries so that I can fulfill that desire in a small way. Can't wait until we are older and can serve a mission together!

A new puppy....

2012-02-09T16:38:00.004-06:00

.....for Mer's brother Cody!! Haha, I bet some of you were real worried for a minute. Cody (our sister-in-law's brother-and our friend) came to stay us with this last weekend. Why, you ask? To pick up this cutie...

As you can tell, I was quite excited to be snuggling with her. It doesn't hurt that she is adorable and a Miniature Schnauzer (Just like our two dogs!). Cody came in Friday night and we then preceded to stay up way too late. Saturday we went to IHOP (Thanks Mom and Dad Breinholt for the gift card!) and then headed out to Marble Falls to check out the puppies. I'm pretty sure Cody fell in love with her as soon as he saw her (I know I did :)). He named her Lily.

(Lily giving Cody kisses)

(Her first bath-so cute!)

We took Cody to Petsmart so I could use my pet owner expertise to load him up with all the essentials. We spent the rest of the weekend trying to make her comfortable, and then they headed back to DFW. Sadly, Ally and Sophie were pretty happy to see her go. When they first saw her I'm pretty sure this is what went through their heads: Ally (our older dog) "Not again!" and Sophie "I'm not the baby anymore?!". Had a great time with Cody and Lily though!

Wicked!!

2012-02-09T16:30:00.003-06:00

So I had great plans to go to Wicked with my sister-in-laws, but due to weekend tickets being sold out really fast we were unable to do it. Heath took pity on me and decided to take me as a date night. I was pretty excited because I had always heard bits of it from my sister-in-laws who loved it, but thought Heath would be pretty bored. Boy was I wrong! We both LOVED it, and can't wait for it to come back so we can go again. We bought cheap seats thinking it was a small venue and we would still be able to see. Again, wrong. We were WAYYYY up high, but it was still a great time. It has made me want to see more musicals/plays in the future. Glad that we live in a city that always has them going on! Thanks to Heath for a great date night!

(Us in our seats. Yep, that is the wall behind us.)

The stage! Shhh, we weren't supposed to take photos :)

Heath's "Man Cave"

2012-02-09T16:00:00.004-06:00

We've been slowly painting the rooms in our house, and so while Heath was on Winter break we decided to tackle the guest room upstairs. It turned out a little darker than I first envisioned, but Heath loves it. It's part his office and he considers it his man cave so that works out! I plan on either painting or doing a vinyl tree on that big blank wall and hanging random pictures of our family on it. Check out an example here.

Room Before:

Room After:

(New paint and curtains)

(Heath's Study area)

(Heath's guitars now safely hung on the wall)

Phew, painting is A LOT of work. Next up is the Nursery. We got a nice light green color- perfect for a boy or girl! :)

Twice the fun!

2012-01-17T17:18:00.004-06:00

I forgot to mention that we had the oppurtunity to have our pictures taken by our very talented friend Jessica Shumway for our adoption profile. She made the shoot fun and had lots of great ideas. You should check her out here !

Plus, the best part was that we got to babysit not once, but TWICE! her adorable twin babies. We got some much needed baby practice in and had tons of fun just snuggling with these cuties.

Some Pictures from our babysitting adventures:

(Heath getting the babes ready for bed.)

(When feeding two, you must get creative. Me with the twinkles.)

Thanks Jess!! It was a win-win for us :)

Holy Update Batman!

2011-12-01T11:08:00.003-06:00

It's been way too long. No good excuses-just busy, busy, busy and sick, sick, sick! I will try and back track to all the fun things we've done in the past couple months:

First of all, November was National Adoption Month! As you know, adoption has become a very important part of our lives and it was so fun to see all the exciting things going on around us to put adoption out there and break some of the stigma. We read many lovely blogs from all over the adoption triad: adoptive parents, adoptees, birthmothers, and birthfathers. My favorite place to go is the LDS Adoption Connection website. It's a great place to go so you can read blogs from both sides of adoption. We haven't been placed with our baby yet, but adoption has such a special place in our hearts already. I think the biggest thing we've gained so far is a deep appreciation and love for birth families. They aren't selfish people who want to shove their child off to the side so they can continue to live their crazy lives. No, they are caring, selfless people who have a deep love for their child and break their own hearts so that they can give their child all that they can't at that time. It breaks my heart that our future birth parents (and all birth parents) have to go through this pain, but like the pain of our infertility we have come to know that great things come from "a broken heart and contrite spirit". Great things will come to these wonderful people. Great things indeed.

November 12th was Heath's 28th birthday! We celebrated by restaurant skipping to all of our favorite places that Heath got free Birthday meals to. I surprised him by upgrading his phone to the new iPhone 4S and gave him a copy of Steve Jobs biography-as you can tell Heath is the ultimate Apple fanboy.

The Wednesday before Thanksgiving we spent at my cousin Heather's house for a cookout. We celebrated my Grandma's Birthday and then took her home with us to stay the night with my parents who were also visiting for Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving Day Heath and I woke up early to get our jeans that were on sale at Old Navy. Then we packed everyone up and headed back to Heather's house for our feast. We had fun playing with Heather's sons and everyone had a great time catching up and hanging out. We are so grateful for our families and having most of them close by so we can make all these fun memories together.

The next day was Black Friday AND our 6th Wedding Anniversary. We celebrated by scoping out all the sales and eating at our traditional Joe's Crab Shack. Heath got us a new washer and dryer for our anniversary- our old one (which wasn't that old) never worked right and made our clothes smelly. The best part was that we sold our old pair the same night which paid for half of it and the rest was covered by work bonuses. I am one happy camper since we plan on doing cloth diapering and I really didn't want smelly laundry anymore! I am very lucky to have Heath in my life and look forward to what this next year has in store for us.

The weekend of December 10th my parents came into town to help us with our Adoption Garage Sale. Many people donated items for our sale and we were able to raise over $1700 for our adoption fund!!! We cannot express enough how grateful we are for so many people wanting to help us out and all the love that has been shown to us as we began our journey to adopt. We love you all!!

My parents got to stay all the way until my 28th Birthday on Tuesday, December 13th! We celebrated with a yummy breakfast and then said goodbye to my parents. Heath got me this beautiful necklace for my birthday. It is hand stamped with "Enjoy the Journey" which is my new favorite phrase for life! I loved it!

We went to DFW for Christmas, but not before I caught some yucky cold virus. Friday, December 23rd we went to our annual CASA Christmas play with Ben and Mer (and their kids). This year my family went too which was a special treat. We can't wait to have our own little one to include in these traditions. Christmas Eve was spent at our annual Breinholt Christmas Eve Bash. It includes Ben and Mer (and family), Jeremy (Heath's brother) and JaeLyn, and Mer's siblings Cody and Bandaid. I was still sick, but we had a blast! We make yummy breakfast food, open presents, do our Christmas devotional (we read the Christmas story from the Bible and act out the parts with our wooden Nativity set) with the Utah Breinholt's via Skype, and just have fun! Christmas Day morning was spent with my family opening presents and then later in the day my mom's family came for lunch and our annual (We have a lot of traditions :)) Chinese gift card exchange. We stayed the rest of the week and I spent it working and still trying to recover from my cold. On Friday I gave in and went to the doctor-2 days before the new year and our new deductible began :) I was diagnosed with an Upper Respiratory Infection, given a steroid shot in the bum, and sent home with two meds.

Saturday the 31st (New Year's Eve) we began what we thought would be a short project for my mom- replacing the kitchen faucet. The faucet was rusted on so bad that we had to replace the sink, and since we were already doing that we also replaced the garbage disposal too. And by we I totally mean Heath. He's my handy man! The project took much longer than we thought and we were oh, about 3 hours late meeting our friends Joey and Kira at our house in Austin. We still feel really bad about that- sorry guys!! Joey and Kira come every year for New Years and we have so much fun with them.

Last week we received the letter that we were approved a to adopt through LDS Family Services!! It was such an exciting day and we can't wait to see what the new year holds for us. We can't wait to meet our birth family and find our baby through the miracle of adoption. Our agency works a little differently. Our birth mom will find us either through our profile on the website www.itsaboutlove.org or through networking with friends, family, and even strangers. So if you feel impressed to share our story- do it! It could be the spirit speaking to you and it could turn out to be the connection to our future birth family. Thank you for your continued prayers, thoughts, and acts of love. We are so grateful for all the support we have been given on building our family. Much love and best wishes in the new year!

P.S. Feel free to grab our button on the right side of our blog. When posted on your blog and clicked it will take others straight to our adoption blog!

Adoption Conference/Pumpkin Carving

2011-11-01T11:26:00.007-05:00

In true Halloween fashion this post has a scary twist, it is written by Heath! I hope I don't drive away our reader.

This weekend we had the great opportunity to go to an adoption conference and hear from several speakers about the many parts of adoption and how we can be better prepared for the process. It was a fantastic meeting and the speakers were great. Adrienne had talked to most of them online already so for her it was nice to put faces with stories. Anyway they were all helpful in the information they gave but it was obvious that they had prayerfully prepared to speak to us. Heavenly Father had guided them to the words we needed to hear and prepared us to hear them. We heard from a couple of families who had been through the adoption process who gave tips on how to be proactive and not passive in finding our baby. A couple of case workers talked about the details of the process and one gave a very wonderful talk about dealing with infertility. It really broke through the shyness barrier and helped everyone voice their emotions. Finally a birthmother spoke about the process from her point of view and told the story of how adoption changed her life. It was truly inspiring to hear her testimony of adoption and we all left hoping to be a part of a story like hers. In the end we all left with a smile on our faces and the spirit in our hearts.

On the following day we spent the afternoon with Ben, Mer, Syd, Malla, and Ty. We had so much fun playing till our bodies could play no more. The girls on the other hand were running on pure sugar (it being Halloween and all) so when we ran out of gas they just ran around and around-literally. We carved a pumpkin and by we I mean everyone handed me the pumpkin and said go ahead and blow our minds. It's hard to be creative with that kind of pressure. I do my best stuff when nobody is expecting it. Anyway, we all liked the idea of the mouth and eyes from the cat on Alice in Wonderland. So, a quick Google search brought up a suitable image that was then carved into the pumpkin. In the end I don't think it looked much like a cat, even with the ears, but it did look scary. After all the fun we had long drive home again. What a good weekend.

Sydney is hollowing out the pumpkin while I'm making the template.

Look at those chubby cheeks. Just love little Tyson.

What a fun day.

Sydney didn't want us to leave.

October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month!

2011-10-24T17:48:00.006-05:00

Last weekend we had the opportunity to attend the 2011 Buddy Walk for the Down Syndrome Association of Central Texas. It was a special day because we got to be members of Team Cruisin' for Carter.

Our team "Cruisin' for Carter" doing the 1 mile walk!

Us with Carter!

Carter is my cousin Heather's son and we are lucky to live close to them and enjoy giving Heather and her husband a break once in awhile so we can babysit Carter and his brother Zane. We always have a good time with the boys. Mostly because Carter loves to entertain. He loves shows like the circus or Sea World and you can usually find him putting on a show for us afterwards. He loves to hang out with Heath. They love to play instruments and Heath is always chosen to read him his books before bed time. Back to the Buddy Walk! Here is a description from the DSCAT website (www.dsact.com): "The Buddy Walk ® was established in 1995 by the National Down Syndrome Society to celebrate Down Syndrome Awareness Month in October and to promote acceptance and inclusion of people with Down syndrome."

It also raises money to help fund these great opportunities:

o New Parent Outreach;

o Recreational Classes (art, dance, music, swimming);

o Age-Specific Social Activities;

o Monthly Speaker Series;

o Bi-Monthly Educational Newsletter;

o Promoting and Encouraging Inclusion; and

o Special Education Advocacy And Training.

Feel free to donate to your local chapter! It's a great cause and I have seen the programs personally bless a loved one of mine.

We had a great weekend!

His plan for me

2011-10-14T11:47:00.008-05:00

One of the best parts of being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is having the knowledge that Heavenly Father has a plan for me. Sometimes that knowledge is clouded by doubt or fear, but it is always there. Even in my darkest hours of infertility I felt the confirmation from the Holy Ghost that Heavenly Father knew my pain and had a plan for me. But I definitely had my moments of doubt. And by moments I mean years. I spent the last 4 years doubting if I would ever be a mother, doubting my worthiness to be a mother, doubting that my prayers were being heard. Doubting that I would ever climb out of the hole of pity, anger, bitterness, sadness, and jealousy I had dug. The important part of that last sentence was "I". I dug that hole and only I could reach out and help myself out of it. I joined the church when I was 17. In the 10 years since my baptism I have had many stumbling blocks put in my way, but I have always overcome them. When infertility was thrown in front of me I was knocked down, but I didn't give up. I was proactive. We went to the doctor, we got tests, we tried procedures, we tried all sorts of things we learned from friends and family and strangers online, we tried diet changes, we tried vitamins. We tried everything. And each time one of those didn't work it was like getting knocked to the ground again. Before we chose adoption (and after we had one last test done) I found myself knocked to my knees again. But this time I did something differently. I changed my prayers. I poured out my heart to Heavenly Father. I told Him all I ever wanted was to one day be a mother. That I was willing to let this (pregnancy) go so that I could meet Him half way and align my plan with His plan. Remember that pit of despair I had dug? Suddenly it wasn't so deep. Suddenly I could grasp the edge and pull myself out. What a great feeling!

After shaking off those 4 years of sadness my eyes were open to all that I had missed. All the blessings, all the answered prayers, all the direction that Heavenly Father had given Heath and I in our lives as we endured this trial. I was able to see that we were heading right where we were meant to be all along and suddenly infertility wasn't a trial anymore. It was a blessing.

I'm not saying it isn't still hard. I had to grieve the loss of a childhood dream-bearing children. It was hard, but it is better now. I am grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who knows our pain and helps lighten our burdens.

Howdy Folks! Welcome to the State Fair!

2011-10-11T13:36:00.005-05:00

Last weekend we headed to DFW for the annual Texas/OU football game at The State Fair of Texas. I have been going to this game since I was a little girl, and it has been fun to include Heath in the tradition after our marriage. We can't wait for the day when we can dress up our little girl or boy in Longhorn garb and head out the fair. The game was one of the most disappointing I've ever seen. Heath and I actually left a quarter early because it was going so poorly. We decided we'd rather enjoy the fair then watch the beating we were getting. Despite the outcome of the game we had a great time. My dad and brother were there and we all just enjoyed spending time with each other. We ate fried food concoctions, played carnival games, and visited the petting zoo.

Since deciding on adoption these moments have been even more special. Now we look at these events and get giddy with the possibility of sharing these times with our own little one. We can't wait to share our lives with a child.

I also got some great news last week. In July, I took a credentialing exam to become a Certified Coding Specialist (CCS). It's a 4 hour test and not easy at all, and I'm proud to announce that I got the good news that I passed the exam! I celebrated by eating and playing to my heart's content at the State Fair :)

Here are some pictures to document the day:

The great thing about losing bad is that everyone leaves you have plenty of bench space to enjoy :)

Inside the stadium. It was packed full of Texas/OU fans!

Us in front of a Texas Longhorn. Beautiful animals :)

Uncle Mattie feeding the baby goats. This little one ate his whole cup.

Us at the game. You can tell this is at the beginning of the game because we are still smiling. We lost bad :(

My favorite thing to do each year is the Petting Zoo. The smile on my face says how much I love animals of all kinds!

Uncle Mattie with all of our treasures after playing games on the Midway. We have a tradition of winning a basketball each year, and both of us did again this year! Longhorn ones of course :)

"Our Nursery"

2011-10-01T18:50:00.005-05:00

Heath and I have been getting excited about transforming what we call the "Longhorn Room" into our nursery. We want to be prepared since you never know with adoption how soon your child may come to you. We like the idea of a gender neutral room because again we have no idea which sex we would be blessed with. We've been to a ton of baby stores and looked online and this is what we've come up with so far:

This is the crib we love:

And this is bedding set/theme we like for the room:

We are thinking about painting the walls either light green or yellow. Blog readers, which color do you like best? We'll probably put up vinyl decals on the wall too or paint a tree with the owls and baby's name on the wall.

We're so excited to begin this new adventure and love that we can call that extra room upstairs "our nursery" instead of "future nursery".

Move along, move along...

2011-09-30T10:38:00.004-05:00

Yesterday we went to do our fingerprinting for the adoption process. It's one of the last major steps before we move on to the home study. I can't believe how fast the process has gone so far. It has felt like months since we made that initial contact with our caseworker, but really it has only been 3 weeks! I started to panic yesterday thinking how fast it was moving. Most of that is excitement, but a little bit of it is apprehension. I think I figured it out though. With the paper work process we have control. We fill out the forms, we turn them in, we move on the next steps, etc. After all of that is done it is time to wait. I have all these thoughts like: what if we say the wrong thing? what if they don't like our pictures? what if we don't get picked? I feel like the nerdy kid on the sidelines wondering if they'll get picked to join someone's kick ball team. I'm trying really hard to push these thoughts aside and put my faith in the Lord that he will lead us to our birth parent(s) and them to us. I know in the end our birth parent(s) will love us for being us. I can't wait to meet them!

Enjoying The Journey..

2011-09-18T20:15:00.003-05:00

I had a great day at church today. I passed babies in the halls, I held babies to help out a friend, I saw parents with their kids and there was no pain, no feelings of loss, no sadness. I mingled with other Saints. I laughed and listened to good lessons. To most this may not seem extraordinary. In fact, it's extremely ordinary. But these past 4 years I have struggled with church. My heart dropped as we would pull into the parking lot. I felt pained as we walked the halls. I felt as every lesson talked of being a good parent and therefor I couldn't relate. It was a long 4 years and I never thought it would get better.

But it did! Not just because we chose adoption and all my problems magically went away, but because I chose to enjoy the journey. I know each second, minute, hour, and day is bringing us closer to being parents. But on the bigger spectrum I know each day is part of a journey that Heavenly Father has planned just for me.

“Life is to be enjoyed, not endured”

― Gordon B. Hinckley

Start Spreading The Word....

2011-09-16T10:49:00.006-05:00

Life is EXCITING right now. On 9/6 we met with our sweet caseworker, Brenda, and officially began the adoption process with LDS Family Services. We have been dutifully filling out online forms, offline forms, and sending in copies of documents. Brenda says we will probably be approved in December, but we are hoping it will be before that. I can honestly say that it has felt like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders since we prayerfully decided to pursue adoption. I have also learned though that choosing adoption hasn't alleviated all my past pain, but also stirred up some new feelings. My battle with Infertility was a rough one. I came out bruised and battered and wondering where my old self had gone. When we made the decision to adopt I felt alive again. I felt like my dreams were possible again. Shortly after we began the process and I was swimming in a mound of paperwork I felt exhausted. I felt as if I went from one hard situation (infertility) to another (the adoption process). I cried. And then I cried some more. Why was life so hard? Why did everything seem like a giant obstacle for me that seemed so easy for others? But maybe that was the point. Maybe all along this was the lesson I was to learn. Life is hard. We are dealt things that seem impossible to overcome. And it hurts. And you feel overwhelmed. But it is worth it. All of our struggles with infertility. All of our failed procedures. All of that pain. It was and is and will be worth it.

So that is where we are with the adoption process. Just continuing to send in things and patiently waiting to be approved. We know there is a special birth mother and child out there just for us. The agency talks a lot about waiting vs. finding and how finding is being proactive while waiting is the opposite. Although we are not approved yet we are going to begin the "finding" process now. Share our blog! Share our facebook page! Share our information with anyone you feel inspired to! We plan on making a button that you can paste on your blogs too. We're so grateful for the support our friends and family have given us and we're so excited for all of you to go on this journey with us!

Check out our Adoption blog:

breinholtadoptionjourney.blogspot.com

Or our Adoption Facebook Page:

http://www.facebook.com/breinholtadoption

Have questions? Contact Us!

breinholtadoption@gmail.com

A Tale of Two Cities..

2011-05-15T13:39:00.002-05:00

Wow, life is just blowing by. The semester is over and I spent it traveling back and forth from Pflugerville to DFW. My classes were online but I had to go on campus to take the exams. So three times this semester I packed up my stuff (including my work computer) and stayed with my parents in Keller. I can safely say that I don't think I'll ever be a traveling coder. It is exhausting going back and forth. So I would get there the weekend before, study, take my tests that Mon/Tues, work the rest of my week at my parent's, and then go home the next weekend. But it is all over now and I got an A and a B so all is well.

Another major change these past few months was with my career. I applied and got offered two new jobs. I accepted the second offer and now work for the 2nd biggest healthcare company in Central Texas. My previous employer was the biggest. I started my new job in the middle of April and things have been going great so far. I still have the option to work from home but have deferred that for now so I can enjoy the company of my new co-workers. It's so nice to be around human beings again! I love my dogs, but they aren't good conversationists. I also am working PRN (as needed) for my old boss. My days consists of coding, coding, and then more coding. But in a time where many are losing jobs or having a hard time finding one, we feel extremely blessed and lucky to have two.

I also got into the Health Information Management program at Texas State University. I start next Fall. Heath is nearing his last year at UT for his undergraduate degree. No one is more giddy with excitement about that great news than me! I am proud of him and the work he has done these past 2 years. UT is a very hard school and he has done wonderfully.

Life is moving on. It seems like yesterday that Heath and I had gotten married and started down our own road with our life's dreams. Things have changed a lot, but not our love for one another. I am so glad to have him to share in life's ups and downs. I couldn't do it without him!

New Year, New Plans

2011-01-17T11:00:00.002-06:00

We have finally made a decision on two important things.

1. I am going back to school

and

2. We are going to adopt.

I start back to school this semester. I'll be doing online courses at TCC and am also putting in my application for the BS in Health Information Management program at Texas State University. If I get in, I will start their online program this Fall. Since I already have my Associate's degree I will be allowed to finish my final two years completely online. Pretty awesome deal. I have to do a great big shout out to my parents for once again stepping up to the plate and helping me out with the tuition costs until I am able to pay them back. My work does tuition reimbursement but-for logical reasons- they don't pay you back until after you've completed the courses. We struggle enough with paying our bills, taking care of two dogs, and taking care of Heath's school expenses so it was such a blessing for my family to be so willing to help us out. I don't know what I would do without them. They are always there when I need them. I am truly grateful for "goodly parents". So I am very excited about school starting (tomorrow actually!) and heading towards a goal I really want to accomplish.

On to the second and equally (or even more) exciting news. After struggling with infertility for four (almost 5) years and all the roller coaster emotions that come with that we have both come to a meeting point on what we would like to do. For us, we feel that there are just no guarantees for IVF (InVitro Fertilization). I am possibly going through POF (Premature Ovarian Failure) right now. With that and the low counts, we feel that it is just not worth the risk of spending all that money and it failing. Heath has been pushing adoption since we started down this road, but I was just having trouble accepting infertility yet alone adoption. I am pretty stubborn about letting things go. I think I have gone through all of the stages of grief finally and ready to move on with this new plan. I think we were meant to adopt all along. I was just pushing away all those promptings because I did not want to accept it. We plan on putting our profile out there in a year. This puts Heath closer to graduation and gives us time to put everything in order : saving money, etc. Although I have accepted this path it doesn't mean that all of my old feelings have gone away. I still cry when others announce a pregnancy, my stomach still aches when I see someone hold a sweet baby, and the maternity/baby aisles at stores still bring anger brimming to the surface. This is another reason we are taking a year before actively pursuing an adoption. I still have strides to make in overcoming this huge change in my life: not getting a family the way I thought I would. But we are both excited about the prospect of adoption and joy this can bring to our lives.

We are hoping this year brings lots of exciting changes and joy to our lives and hope the same thing for all of you.

ACL= Pure Awesomeness!

2010-10-15T11:08:00.004-05:00

The Eagles in all their magnificence!

All 80,000 people at the festival. It was crowded, but fun!

Last weekend was the annual ACL (Austin City Limits) Festival. This equals 3 days of music (70 bands!) in Zilker Park, and I got to go to Sunday's festivities with my dad and brother. The Eagles were playing and if you know anything about my dad you know that he loves him some Texas Longhorn football and he loves him some Eagles. I grew up watching The Eagles Live in Concert: Hell Freezes Over DVD over and over again(although when we were younger it was a VHS :)). So we spent the day lazying around eating good food and listening to great music and then it was time! Time for some Eagles! It was an amazing concert. They are so good live and I've never seen my dad happier. It was great having my dad here for the weekend. I watched a lot more sports than I ever would, but it was nice just spending time with him.

Moving On!

2010-10-01T10:55:00.003-05:00

This last month we did our last and final fertility treatment and much like it's predecessors it was a big, fat, epic fail. We are letting go of this part of our lives for awhile and are going to search out some other paths to travel down for now. Heath finishing school, me doing more school, going on some vacations and hopefully forgetting about the word Infertility and the pain it has caused in our life. We can no longer plan our lives around: when this treatment will work, when I am pregnant, when we have a baby, etc. Although we are moving, living, doing- infertility has put our lives at a stagnant standstill and we are ready to move forward with new plans. Being parents was such a big part of the dreams we had for our future and now that we've had one road block after another we are coming to terms with the fact that it probably won't happen for a very long time. We just cannot afford the price tag of In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) and I am not in the right state of mind to accept adoption yet. It is Plan B to me, and I would never want a little one to grow up thinking "My mommy couldn't have children so she adopted me". I feel bitter that there are all these women giving up their babies because they don't want them, can't afford them, can't care for them- and I would give anything to have a baby of my own and just can't. Simply just can't. I think I will have a long road of acceptance coming up. I am angry, bitter, jealous, sad, and heartbroken, and those feelings don't go away overnight (although I wish they did). I guess the biggest thing I am bitter about is that 4 years ago I gave up my dreams of what I really wanted to do in school and changed to the degree I have now so I could work from home and still be a stay at home mom. Now each day I work from home is like salt in my barren womb. Right now I am planning on extending my Associate's Degree into a BS in Health Information Management, but I am also thinking of the possibility of choosing a degree I really want to do. Maybe this is an opportunity to fulfill other dreams we have like : school, traveling, etc. One day this will all make sense..

Our little graduate!

2010-08-16T12:41:00.005-05:00

The teacher had little graduation caps! Awesomeness!

It was quite a feat trying to get that hat to stay on her head.

Sophie graduated from her beginner obedience class last Wednesday. The guests of honor were Uncle Mattie and big "sister" Ally. She did a great job and as any biased "parent" would say.....I think she was the best :) She was younger than all the other dogs because they didn't get enough people for the puppy class so she got put into the next level with older dogs. She did great.....we didn't. She learned a lot but we didn't practice as much as we should have. We will take what we have learned and move forward and hopefully she'll be a well trained canine citizen! Congrats Sophie Jane, we are proud!

Hotel Breinholt was also booked this weekend. Mom and Dad brought Meme (dad's mom) to visit and to celebrate my dad's birthday. It was good seeing her and as always, we had a great time. Gram and Gramps bought Sophie a new kennel (to match Ally's) for graduation. She LOVES it and in fact hasn't left it so far today....and the door is open :)

Looking forward to a fun weekend with Ben, Mer, and the girls! Can't wait!

Catching Up!

2010-08-07T12:18:00.002-05:00

We've had lots of fun things going on but I just haven't had time to post anything....

After Joey and Kira cam for the 4th, we had some other friends stop by as they were traveling to San Antonio. Forest and Jenny stayed with us from Thursday through Sunday. The best part of people coming into town (besides seeing them, of course) is all the fun things we get to see/do that we probably wouldn't do on our own. For instance, we've lived here for a year and have never been to the Capital- even though it is right by campus. So we got to do that- it was really amazing- beautiful land and architecture. Also they went to a couple museums on campus while I was working Friday. All in all a good time.

Then mom came to visit us for a couple days before her and dad left for their Alaskan cruise. It was nice to see her and the grand-puppies always love a visit from their Gram :)

After that it was Mattie's birthday, so what to we do? What any almost 30 year olds do, head to Chuck E. Cheese's of course! It's a tradition now- Davy comes from Fort Worth and we all head out to the local CEC and try and not look like child predators :) We had a blast as usual. Mattie won the skee ball jackpot a grand 19 times. It was insane. There was an audience surrounding him . Pure awesomeness. The best part is the end of night when we pool all our tickets together and see what we've made and then everyone gives us their slips to give to our nieces. So really it is like charity work :)

Then, this last weekend, we went home to Keller to watch the house while mom and dad were in Alaska. It was also Bennie boo's birthday. Ben and Mer brought the girls over Saturday morning to swim. After that we pretty much did nothing. I must say it was one of our most boring weekends home. Parents weren't home and everyone else was busy. Plus the main reason we came home was to mow the lawn, and we woke up Saturday morning to the neighbors finishing the lawn. Talk about good neighbors. They are LDS and super nice. But that left us pretty much with a wasted trip except for the small amounts of time we got to see Heath's family.

Other fun things coming up are: Sophie's Graduation and Heath starting school again!

A very merry Un-4th of July

2010-07-07T21:43:00.003-05:00

I tried to upload the video (which was way good), but it was taking too long, so you get this lame picture :)

I just figured everyone was naming their recent posts something to do with the 4th of July so I went in a different direction. Like other holidays, this one is over taken by picnics at the lake, extended weekends, and unimportant things that have nothing to do with the purpose of the day. And we did it all. Haha, just kidding. I did however spend the day thinking about my grandfathers (and the many others) who have served/are serving for our country and given us these wonderful lives- you know the one's where we can take a long weekend, go to the lake, and shoot fireworks. On the other hand, we did have our friends Joey and Kira come visit and had a great weekend with them. Friday we headed out to Cooper's for some good ol' BBQ. Then we started our typical weekend of staying up entirely too late playing Mario Bros. Saturday we tested out the famous Round Rock donuts with their incredible 14 inch donut. Joey and Kira bought one and between the 4 of us we didn't finish it (much of that was due to the fact that it was chocolate glazed and it was WAY too much chocolate-if there is such a thing). Then we continued our spree of eating at Pluckers with Matt. 5 delicious lemon pepper wings later and we were all full. Sunday we laid low until around 9 when we headed out to Georgetown for a fireworks show- you know, the true meaning of the holiday :) We had a great weekend and thank J&K for making the trek from Houston once again. Hopefully we'll get to visit you guys soon!

Joey and Kira at the fireworks show.

Us at the show..

This weekend we have friends from our old Trophy Club Ward coming to visit: Forest and Jenny. Yep, you read that right. They're like peas and carrots :) They don't get that ever I'm sure....just like I never get "Yo Adrienne!!!!". Yeah, that never happens. Anywho, they're heading in tomorrow to keep Austin weird- a little saying we have here.

It's been a crazy whirlwind of a Summer but we're enjoying it.

Clever Title Here

2010-06-24T12:25:00.002-05:00

Just like I don't have a good name for this post I don't really have much to write about, but thought it was time for an update. Last weekend my parents came to visit for Father's Day weekend. We were going to go home but I got a little sick and they decided to come visit instead. We went to Lockhart to eat at Smitty's BBQ. It was pretty good. Another one of the many great places around Austin that have been featured on food/travel channels. After that we headed out to the Alamo Drafthouse (it's like The Movie Tavern in Fort Worth) to see Toy Story 3. We al agreed that it was an awesome movie. Pretty unbelievable for a trilogy- they usually get worse but I think they are getting better! After that we headed home and hung out. Last week I sold my phone so I could buy a new one. Somehow I was already eligible for an upgrade which just happened to be the same time that Apple/AT&T released the new iPhone. I said if I could sell my old phone for the same price as the new one then I would do it. I ended up selling it for 25 dollars more than the cost of the new one with taxes included. I profited! So my new one is due to be delivered today and Heath is anxiously waiting by the door for it :). This weekend we're going home so we can FINALLY go see our friend's new baby boy Koen. I didn't want to risk getting him sick last weekend. Congratulations Wes and Brindee! Can't wait to see him! It's also my mom's birthday on Sunday so we'll be celebrating that too. It's been a busy summer so far and we've loved it! Keep the fun coming!

Sea World- Fun for all ages!

2010-06-12T09:21:00.005-05:00

Enough with the depressing talk. Let's talk fun! We've had the pleasure of going to Sea World twice so far this year. We bought one of those Fun Cards where you pay the same price as a one day admission but you get to come back all year.

The first time we got to go we went with Ben, Mer, and the girls. We went both Friday and Saturday and had a blast. It was so nice to see the faces on the girls at the shows. There is nothing like bringing joy into a child's life because it brings joy into yours! We also got to stay at this awesome resort hotel thanks to Ben and Mer's friends. It was an amazing, relaxing time and we wish we could do it again.

Hanging in the hotel with our Sea World treasures.

Waiting for the Shamu show to start.

Everyone after the Shamu show. We sat in the Splash Zone but hardly got wet.

Thanks for a great trip Ben and Mer! We had a blast!

The second time we went was two days ago. My aunt called us last month and asked if we would help her out with taking her grandson's to Sea World. Being the fun lovers we are, we said yes! So we spent the night at my cousin's house Wednesday, got up early Thursday and headed out to San Antonio, then came back that night after we had worn the kids out. Boys are a lot harder than girls. Holy smokes. Carter has Down Syndrome so you have do a lot more for him than other 6 year olds, but he's a great kid and LOVES Heath so they always have a great time. He loves shows, animals, and acrobats so he was in heaven being at Sea World. Carter loved the Beluga/Dolphin show so much that he just sat there when the show ended and signed more and said "more show!"

Zane, Aunt Sis, Me, Carter, and Heath outside the entrance of Sea World.

Another great trip! Thanks for inviting us Aunt Sis!

So hopefully we'll have more fun trips to S.W. this year and many more summer fun adventures!

Why not me? *Addendum

2010-06-04T11:49:00.001-05:00

*ADDENDUM TO MY PREVIOUS POST*
Okay, obvioulsy I am a little angry right now. A lot of this has been building up the past three years. Month after month of negative pregnancy tests will do that to a person. I'm not going to lie, I really do think/have thought/feel/have felt all of the below things and more- wrong or right. I need to write about two things. One being of a time shortly after joining the church. I joined when I was 17. During that time I took ridacule from friends, family, and sometimes strangers. I dealt with my Baptist friends who thought I was going to hell. I dealt with my parents kicking me out of the house because they didn't understand. I dealt with my grandma giving my parents anti-mormon literature so that they could know the "truth". For the past 10 years I have struggled with the need to fit in with my family and friends that were now so clearly different than me and also trying to live the life I knew I wanted. I knew what I believed and I knew why I wanted to be baptized, but trying to be another person after being someone else for 17 years can be a difficult thing. I stumbled many times, but always got right back up and kept moving forward. That was a very hard time in my life. I was being hurt for doing something good- going to church. I was changing my life for the better, but met opposition in every direction. It was a very painful time, but also a time in my life that changed me for the better. I made it through and thought to myself, surely this is as bad as it gets. Surely I will reap the benefits of standing strong for what I believe. Hince the bitterness as the time came for me to weather yet another one of life's trials- infertility. I feel like I am going to be fighting these battles all of my life while others seem to have things handed to them. It feels like nothing comes easy to me and I am becoming resentful of how strong the Lord believes me to be. The hardest part is being a member of this great church that teaches of families and how they are your greatest treasure. When you can't obtain it, you feel broken. You feel like a failure as a wife, a member of the church, a daughter/daughter-in-law, and a daughter of our Heavenly Father. I know I cannot let this trial define who I am or where I am going. I know I cannot let it extinguish my testimony or love for the church. I just don't know to get out of this place, to come to terms with this, to overcome these feelings.
The other thing I wanted to say was that I am aware of the many blessings I have daily. I do not want to short change all the good I have in my life. A very loving husband, a wonderful house I can call home, two loyal dogs, great family and friends. It just seems that when something like this takes over your life you forget about the simply great things you do have. I know I have a lot and I am very lucky. And on the other hand, I realize that there are many more people out there that are struggling with far more than I am.
I also realize that this is not the end of the road. That there are many options out there for us to expand our family. I'm just simply a girl who wishes she could do it the "normal" way, and needed an outlet to vent these feelings I've been having. I think the world in general does not talk about infertility enough and so as a woman going through it you feel alone and strange. You feel like you have no one to relate to, but I have found many greats friends along this journey and thank them for all the support they've given me.

Why not me?

2010-06-02T08:09:00.009-05:00

As most of you loyal readers (all 3 of you :)) know, we've been struggling with infertility issues for about three years now. It has overwhelmed my life in so many ways. It is starting to define who I am and I hate it. Oh there goes Adrienne- She has infertility- feel sorry for her. It's a disease that is pretty much sucking the life out of me. The worst part is that it is a silent disease that no one sees and that no one can cure. So I live each day mourning my childhood dreams of becoming a mother, raising a family, and doing what most people consider the best job on earth. I watch others as they interact with children, or as mothers hold their infants, and I look at what seems like every person around me walk around with a pregnant belly, and I think- Why not me? Why not me, the person who waited until she was married to have sex, the person that did what the Lord asked and got sealed in the Temple, the person who has tried to do what is right. You feel like you are doing these things in your life: going to church, paying tithing, saying your prayers, attending the Temple, reading your scriptures, following the Word of Wisdom- and they are hard sometimes, but you do them, and you feel that somehow you will get rewarded- that it will pay off. Then you wake up one day and you realize what a fool you've been. Because the 16 year old in the back seat of that car just got what you want. The unwed mother of 3 just got what you want-again, that girl smoking and drinking has what you want, and even the very best of people have what you want- and deserve it. So why not me? I've spent the last three years wondering what I am doing wrong, am I not good enough, am I being punished, is our timing wrong, does the Lord not care and has forgotten me. Does the Lord not care- how sad is that? This has been the most painful time of my life. I have questioned who I am, what I believe, and why I believe it, and I am coming up short on answers and feeling a lot of apathy towards life right now. Slowly coming to the realization that I will have to pay $15,000-$30,000 to experience what others get for free is a bitter battle with your spiritual side. On top of that, we don't have that kind of money. Not to mention that the procedures take everything beautiful and wonderful out of the experience. Doctors probing and poking and implanting. We've done three procedures so far and nothing has come from it. Just false hope, broken hearts, and empty bank accounts. I am spiritually flat lined and unable to comprehend what God wants me to learn from this pain right now. I've heard it all: You are so young, it will happen. Give it time. Be patient. It will happen in the Lord's time. Go on vacation. Just relax. Don't think about it. God is teaching you something. Some are just meant to adopt, maybe that's you. This is how Satan tries to get us. If I hear another tried and cliche saying about trying to have baby- I am going to scream! I especially don't want to hear it from the mother of 8 sitting next to me telling me she understands what I am going through and to hang in there. No you don't and I don't need your sympathy. I don't know if I'll ever become a mother, by miracle or adoption or whatever, but if that day comes I hope I can look back on this bitter, angry, painful time and see what I was supposed to learn, because all I can say right now is SCREW THIS BABY MAKING STUFF, IT SUCKS!

Bitter Yuck! And other Fun Tales.

2010-04-29T08:49:00.004-05:00

Both her and Ally love to lay on their toys for a good nap.

This toy is the best. She will get inside of it and walk around. So funny. At this point, she had played so much that she just passed out in it. So much entertainment!

Well, it's been a couple weeks since we've gotten little Sophie and things are going pretty good. Ally has really taken to her and they pretty much exhaust each other playing all day. Exactly what we were hoping for! We're still working on the housebreaking thing (and hoping our carpet survives it!). Sophie goes in for her second set of shots this Friday and then hopefully we can take her on walks and other things.

So she has been chewing on my baseboards-A LOT. We decided to go to the pet store and get some of that chew deterrent spray. We picked out one called Bitter Yuck. Sounds yummy right? So this is how it's supposed to work. You spray it on whatever you don't want them to chew, they put their mouth on it and get a taste, then they are so disgusted by the bitterly yucky taste that they no longer chew on your things. Let's just say it did nothing. In fact, she started licking it off right after I sprayed and wasn't even phased. So fast forward to later in the night. I brushed my fingertip on my lip. What do I taste? The most horrible thing I've ever had on my tongue. It tasted like sucking on a bare aspirin. IT WAS GROSS. I drank water. Nothing. I ate all sorts of things. Nothing. I felt like I was going to throw up so I just went to bed. I woke up with the same nasty taste. Let's just say I've been trained to not lick my finger and Sophie stills chews on everything. How backwards is this? It was pretty funny though.

Also exciting was that last week Kami, Chapan, and Ron came to visit. We had such a wonderful time just visiting with them. It was our first time to really get to know Chapan since the wedding so that was nice. They didn't really want to do much- I'm guessing Ben and Mer wore them out- so we mostly hung around and watched movies/TV. We also checked out Lance Armstrong's bike shop, Mellow Johnny's. It was pretty cool. We ate at the usual places- Hut's and Trudy's, and again just hung out and played Wii and watched a lot of The Office. You guys promised me you weren't bored, so I hope you had as much fun as we did. So glad you made the extra drive to come see us! Love you!

Meet Sophie Jane!

2010-04-09T13:19:00.003-05:00

Sophie Chillaxin in her new bed.

Ally and Sophie not knowing what to think of each other.

We finally got that second dog we've been talking about. She is a 7 week old salt and pepper Miniature Schnauzer. She has a natural tail and ears-breeders usually crop them, but it's purely cosmetic and tortuous, so we are glad she is al natural. I just felt really horrible that Ally was just laying around the house all day when she could be playing with a friend. So a while back we decided on getting a second dog, but let the idea go when we found out we were moving to Austin. Now that we've settled in and Ally was back to her I'll stare at you while you work because I'm bored routine I started thinking about it again. And alas, a new puppy. The sad part is, Ally isn't too thrilled, at least not yet. When I first got Ally, my parents had another schnauzer that we'd had since childhood. They became the best of friends and then Missy passed away. I thought she had been missing that companionship so we got the puppy. I think she likes her and all- they are just at different stages. Ally wants to play with Sophie and so she comes barreling at her and Sophie just freezes in terror because of this huge thing coming at her. It's been pretty funny. All in all though, I think they will become the best of friends- only time will tell. Total guilt trip last night was when Ally wouldn't get on the bed and sleep with us :( I guess I didn't factor in the jealousy thing. Oops. Well wish us luck as we head down this new road of adventure!

Hotel Breinholt Booked Again!

2010-03-17T22:05:00.002-05:00

This weekend we had the pleasure of having our friends Joey and Kira visit from Houston. They came in Friday and stayed until Tuesday night. We ate at lots of yummy places, played lots of Mario Bros Wii, and just had fun hanging out. We had so much fun with you guys. Thanks for making the short journey to spend part of your Spring Break with us!

Heath also has Spring break off so we are just trying to get some stuff off our to-do list this week. That's pretty much it right now.

Visitors at Hotel Breinholt!

2010-03-09T07:40:00.004-06:00

We had a great weekend with Heath's family. Thursday night Mom, Dad, and Ron drove in from Ben and Mer's and we took them to Trudy's to eat. On Friday we headed down to campus so they could see where Heath spends his days (and to visit the world's largest collection of things burnt orange- The Co-Op). After that we ate a place called The Mellow Mushroom which was one of Ron's favorite places from his mission- and there was one in Austin! Pretty cool for him. Next we took Ron to the Apple store so Heath could talk his ear off about all things Mac. Then we started our trek to find a movie theater that played The Blind Side which ended in an even crazier attempt to find one that played Avatar in 3D. We ended up watching Avatar, and it was pretty good. I think the visual effects were amazing, but I wouldn't say it was the best movie I've ever seen. Saturday Ben, Mer, and the girls came into town. We sat off to eat at this place that Ben has been dying to try- The Salt Lick. It was pretty good BBQ, but I'm not sure it lived up to its hype for everyone. Then we did a little shopping at the Round Rock Outlets- Mer and I love that place! After that we went home and hung out. Sunday started off with me getting to church early so I could talk to one of the bishop's counselors. Guess who got a calling? Primary, here I come! Then we just spent the rest of Sunday eating and hanging out. That night, after the girls went to bed, we had an exciting game of Super Mario Brothers Wii. It was great. I think we played one level a bazillion times. Monday morning we said our goodbyes and our house has been too quiet ever since. We miss you guys! Thanks for a great long weekend. We had a blast!

Best Sydney quote of the weekend: "I just want you and Xhaxhi to be my parents". Hehe, made our day. Poor Syd, she thinks we'd be cool parents. Little does she know.... :)

Best Malla quote of the weekend: Anytime she would walk around the house and say in her sweet little voice "Xhaaaxxhi" "Haaallllaa"

BEST WEEKEND EVER. Welcome home Ron! Thanks for everything Mom and Dad! We're so glad we got to see ya'll!

In your opinion....

2010-02-05T20:29:00.003-06:00

Okay, so we've filed our taxes now and thanks to Uncle Sam it looks like we might be able to get that dining table after all (Yay for the whole new homebuyer credit thing). But, I have a problem. There are like three that we like. So why not throw it to the bloggers for a little help. Which of these tables do you like and why....

I realize that they are all similar but at the same time they are very different. I'm leaving the details out so as to not form any sort of bias. So, let me know what you think and thanks for the help!

Why DOESN'T money grow on trees?

2010-02-02T22:26:00.003-06:00

Because if it did, I'd buy this little beauty....

Another great Costco find! But alas, we've exhausted our spending funds after the whole buying a house thing. Who would have thought? But if this ended up on my door step, I wouldn't mind. ;) It would be nice to have more then two people able to sit at the table- you know, without pulling up the desk chair.

Things are going good here. We had my parents stay this last weekend in Hotel Breinholt. We all went to the UT basketball game (we lost), and then drowned our sorrows in the greatest mexican food ever at Trudy's celebrating Lindsey's birthday (Matt's friend from high school). All in all, a great weekend.

Also, we are looking forward to Mom, Dad, and Ron coming down from Utah in March! It's been two years since we've seen the Ron dude and Kami's wedding (in October) since we've seen Mom and Dad. We look forward to our visits!

Hope everyone's New Year is going well. Love ya!

Our New House

2010-01-25T08:00:00.016-06:00

We finally closed on our house January 15, 2010. The house buying process was pretty easy peezy until we got to closing and then the bank selling the house became pretty greedy and we had a long 2 week fight with them. NEVER deal with Chase bank. They are horrible. But all in all, it wasn't that bad, and we are very happy with our new home. Now to the good part... pictures! Blogger makes it kind of hard to organize so they might be out of order. (Captions are underneath the pictures).

The front at night. I will get a better picture later.

Welcome to our home!

Our New Address!

Our front window before being frosted.

Front window after being frosted. Yay for privacy!

The powder room at the front entry.

This is our bedroom.

More of our bedroom and new furniture.

Our new dresser.

Our bathroom.

Our closet.

Under the stair storage. IT IS AWESOME.

The dining room with our tiny table. Looks like we need to save up for a new grown up table.

The right side of the kitchen with our new appliances (A Christmas present from my parents- We don't normally get gifts like this but they took Mattie to California for the National Championship game and they don't like doing for one without doing for the other, so Thanks to my families obsession with UT football (and their love of course ;)) we have new, beautiful appliances.) We LOVE them. They really finished off the house.

The left side of the kitchen. Our stove/range was damaged when it was delivered so we are waiting on a new one.

A view of the whole kitchen.

Another view of our Living Room. Our bedroom is the door to right of the front entry.

View of Living Room from Dining Room. Complete with lazy dog.

View of Living Room from entry way. It is long and narrow so we had to get creative with the couches. Notice our lazy dog sleeping on the couch again. :)

TV area in Living Room.

The guest bathroom upstairs.

Another view of the guest bathroom.

The larger extra bedroom (AKA The grandparent's room- hint, hint- come visit!)

Another view of the larger extra bedroom.

My home office in the loft area.

Another view of my home office/loft.

The smaller extra bedroom/ Heath's Office. (AKA The Longhorn room)

Heath's study area in the smaller extra bedroom.

New front door hardware.

Old door knobs. I am not a fan of gold so these had to go.

Our new beautiful bronzed oil door knobs installed by my very own handy man Heath.

Old Sliding Door Handles

New Sliding door handles

The jungle up front that we need to tame.

My new nemesis- the common weed. I will kill them all!

Ally loves her new backyard! And we love not having to take her out on a leash!

So there you have it. We love our new home and have enjoyed getting settled and making it our own. The best part- Not having to move for like 5+ years and not having to live in an apartment! We feel truly blessed right now, especially as so many others struggle over in Haiti to survive after that tragic earthquake. Our thoughts and prayers are with those affected in any way by this sad event.

If you haven't already, please head to one of these sites and donate for the recovery and rebuilding of Haiti. Every dollar helps. We did the really simple text option and it will just add our donation onto our cell phone bill.

www.helphaitinow.org

www.redcross.org

www.clintonbushhaitifund.org

We took home more than gifts this Christmas...

2009-12-31T07:45:00.002-06:00

We took home the cold virus! Yep, we've done it again. Both of us have some nasty little upper respiratory yuckiness, although Heath is just a little congested and I've (as usual) got the full blown virus fun. So I have been trying to get lots of sleep and drink plenty of fluids which has left no time to blog about what an awesome Christmas we had. So here we go...

Thursday night we headed over to Ben and Mer's for our annual Christmas Eve Bash. This year we had the pleasure of having the J's, Cody and Bandaid there also. We had a breakfast buffet for dinner and I must say Jeremy makes the most awesome omlets ever. Then we let the girls open their gifts from us (and my parents) since we don't see them on Christmas day. After that, it was the Breinholt Nativity Christmas Devotional Spectacular via Skype. All and all it was a very fun time. We left a little earlier than we would have liked because surprise, surprise we had gotten snow that whole day and the roads were a little slick as the day went on. Us Texans don't do too well driving unless it is bright and sunny outside :)

Then Christmas day I fought the urge to wake everyone up at my parent's at 5 a.m. and let them sleep in until almost 8! Man, am I good daughter/sister/wife or what? :) So we got up and opened presents and hung out for awhile and then we got packed and headed out toward Wolfe City. My grandma and aunt wanted us to do Christmas with them this year there and so we packed the car with humans, packages, and dogs alike and headed out on the now thawing roads. My grandma wanted to do dinner at her house (which is right next door to my aunt's) so she prepared an all out feast for us all. It was a tough time for them as they were struggling through the holidays without my cousin Colin, but it was great being there with everyone. After opening presents at my Aunt's we went off to Gran's for some much needed rest (the whole waking up at 8 was catching up to us) and then we headed home the next day. That was also the day I woke up with the dreaded sore throat. After that we just lounged around at mom and dad's playing with our new trinkets. Then on Sunday we headed back to Austin so we could get some paperwork into our lender...... because we close in 5 days!!

So here we are in Austin, 5 days away from closing, and couldn't be more excited! We can't wait to be in our little home together and make it our own.

Wishing you all a Happy New Year. May all your dreams come true!

Or a dead lizard.....

2009-12-21T13:17:00.002-06:00

Wow, so out of all the boring posts I've written, I thought at least the "We're getting a house" post would get more buzz. I must be down from three readers to one. Maybe this will be more entertaining, but I doubt it. We've been in Keller for the past three days or so. Friday we drove in and then Saturday we went to a Casa Manana play with Mer's family and the girls. I haven't been there since like elementary school field trips. It was a pretty cute play minus all the smoke in the air for the lights. My eyes couldn't breathe through all of it. Other than that it was the best seeing the girls light up when Santa would come out. Ah, to be young again.
After the play, we headed over to Mer's parent's house and hung out for awhile. Mer took the girls home to put them in bed, and Ben stayed with us so he could watch the Cowboys game. We decided to spend the night over at Ben and Mer's so we took Ben to my parent's to get our things. Heath took Ally out and she was acting weird after that. She kept roaming in a circle around the couch. Mom thought it was because she knew we were leaving. I was thinking, "The only time she does this is when she has snatched something up and knows she's done wrong." So she jumped on the couch next to me and I opened her mouth and behold, there was a small piece of a stick in her mouth. Looked almost like a root of a plant or something. Then I looked closer, my eyes got wide, and in my best disgusted girly girl voice exclaimed "Or a dead lizard!!!". I was holding in my hand a tiny, shrunken, dead house lizard....from my dog's mouth! Yuck. I promptly threw it away, washed my hands, and reminded myself to not get "kisses" from Ally for a long time. Dog's do the darndest things!
So after all that excitement Sunday we went to church and then headed over to our friends Scot and Amy's house. They recently bought it about 7 months ago and we have yet to go and check it out. We had a great dinner, had fun catching up, and had a little friendly competition on the Xbox. Good times all around. Looking forward to more fun this week. Merry Christmas!

We're homeowners!

2009-12-11T08:53:00.004-06:00

Well, not quite yet, but almost! A couple weeks ago we put an offer on a house that was exactly what we were looking for. We have been looking at houses ever since we lived in Roanoke, but then we found out we were moving to Austin. Once we got here, we kept looking, but nothing in our price range ever came up in North Austin (there were tons in South Austin but that area is scary).

So one Sunday, I did my usual search in Pflugerville and only one house popped up. Very unusual since there are normally at least three pages worth of results. This house was so cute. One of those row type homes with the cute white fences. Then I looked at the price. Awesome. So we decided to drive by and check out the neighborhood. It was the cutest neighborhood we'd ever seen. So three weeks later and after a ton of paperwork, the bank has accepted our offer and we will close on January 5th! We're pretty excited and can't wait to have guests in our new home! Come visit!

Also, in other good news, Heath has survived his first semester at UT and came out with some pretty awesome grades. I'm so proud of him and super excited to have him home all day during his break. Although it doesn't do much for my productivity :)

Hope everyone has a great Christmas and love you all.

P.S. I'll put pictures up soon. Our only computer decided to die right after we found out about the house so I'll have to download the ones we have on Heath's phone.

One second

2009-12-07T14:07:00.002-06:00

One second can change your life. One second can change everything. One second can put you in field goal range, you make the field goal, and then your favorite team is going to the National Championship game. Thank goodness for that one second :)
Hehe I bet you thought this was some profound blog about a life changing event. Nope, just about the most stressful, yet exciting game I've ever experienced. Saturday, Texas played Nebraska in the Big 12 Championship game and it was a nailbiter. It was insane. Neither defense was letting anyone by, both offenses were playing pretty bad, and the officials seemed to have been taken off the street and offered the job right before the game. So it came down to the last play with one second left and a kicker who is now my hero. I sat at the tip top of the Cowboy stadium swaying with nausea, knees feeling like they were going to buckle, and a slight feeling that if something didn't happen soon then I would certainly pass out. See Nebraska thought the game was over when McCoy threw his last pass and so they stormed the field and started to celebrate. Tisk, tisk Huskers. But there was a review and whispers in the stands that the clock was wrong. The judgement on the field: there was ONE second left of game play. Mack sends out our kicker and there is a hush among Horns fans. I can't take it anymore. I sit in my chair, pound my head into my hands, and begin fervently praying to Heavenly Father that we will not lose this game. A selfish and unimportant prayer to most, but you don't don't know my father. The guy who's life revolves around Texas Longhorn football, the guy who chose his career around the football schedule, and the guy who already had his reservations set in Pasadena, CA banking on this win. Yes, THAT guy. I did not want to drive home with that guy, spend the rest of the weekend with that guy, and gosh darn it I did not want him to be unhappy. So I kept my head down and my eyes closed. There was a hush, then cheering, and I looked up to see a smile on my dad's face which can mean only one thing. We won! We WON! One second and one point, and Texas is heading to the National Championship. Now all this obsession may seem crazy to you, but for me, the little girl in the cheerleading outfit who held her dad's hand as they entered the stadium all those years ago, it was pretty darn awesome. Hook em Horns, and thanks for an awesome game.

As you can tell, we spent the weekend in Keller attending the Big 12 game. Thanks so much to mom and dad for a great weekend and for taking us. We loved it. We also got to meet up with Tami and Jason to eat before the game and tailgate before and after. Seriously, best game ever. Then on Sunday we got to see Ben, Mer, and the girls. A great weekend all around.

Catching Up...

2009-11-30T13:36:00.003-06:00

Lots has happened lately but I just haven't been in front of the computer long enough to write it all down.
On the 13th, Ben, Mer, and the girls headed down from Ft. Worth to visit us. It was so great to see them and so much fun having them here with us. Friday, we met up with the Mathis' to eat. We were going to eat at our favorite Mexican food place (Trudy's), but the wait was so long we bailed on them and walked over to Chili's where they seated us immediately. Saturday, we rode the bus to Campus. It was funny to see Mallory's face in amazement as she realized she didn't have to be buckled in on the bus. We showed them where Xhaxhi goes to school, the store where you can buy anything Longhorn, and the Tower/Capital. Then we headed back home via bus and rested for a bit. After that we headed to everyone's favorite place....Chuck E. Cheese's! 300 tokens later we had Syd walking out proud with this awesome Tink toy and 4 bags of cotton candy. It was pure awesomeness. Then the boys headed back to the apartment to "put the girls to sleep" which means feed them tons of cotton candy and let them stay up :) Mer and I headed to Round Rock to shop at the Outlets. I always enjoy me some Mer time. All in all it was a great weekend and we are so grateful for them coming and sharing in the magic that is Austin :) Love you guys! Oh, a funny side note. Syd knows we live pretty far from her, but it was funny, she kept saying "When I get back to Texas..." and we tried explaining to her that she was still in Texas, just another city. Her words were" Yes I know, its just another country" Hehe, so apparently we live further away than Mom and Dad Breinholt.

This last week we headed home to Keller for Thanksgiving. We headed down Wednesday afternoon and our three hour drive turned into 5 1/2. No bueno. The break was awesome. It was nice to have 4 days of fun. Mom and Gran cooked up a great Thanksgiving dinner which we enjoyed throughout the weekend. My mom had a small disaster with her water valves the day after Thanksgiving and so Jeremy(and JaeLyn) were nice enough to come over and fix them all. Thanks again! My family is helpless with things like that so it is nice that the Breinholt's are so hands on. Then Saturday, we ate dinner with Ben and Mer and had a fun game night after that. Then we had a 6 hour drive back, and will be doing it all over again next weekend for the Big 12 Championship game. I'm a little ready to be in just one place for awhile. We have so much to be thankful for this holiday season and are truly grateful for all the many blessings we have in our lives. Happy holidays ya'll and Hook Em' Horns!

A Wedding and a Win

2009-10-19T10:51:00.004-05:00

This was one crazy weekend but an awesome one at that. Friday afternoon we flew out to Utah for Heath's sister's Wedding. They were sealed at a new Temple (pictured above) that was absolutely beautiful and the reception was amazing also. I love going to the Temple, especially for Sealings, and hearing those same blessings that were given to Heath and I almost four years ago. I know that the work that goes on in Temples brings together families for eternity and I'm so grateful to have that in my life. I am so happy for Kam-a-roo and it was nice to finally meet her husband Chapan. He seems like a really sweet guy and I couldn't be happier for Kami. So after flying in late Friday night, we woke up early Saturday and headed to the Temple, attended the Sealing, took lots of pictures (some which I will post as soon as I get them from Mer/Bandaid), went home for a little bit so I could watch Texas get a touchdown (It was Texas/OU weekend), headed out for lunch at Carino's, headed to set up for the reception, took some more pictures, had the reception, cleaned up the recpetion, woke up for church, went to church, took a nap, then flew back to Austin, arrived in Austin at 11:00pm, went to bed, woke up for work/school at 7am. PHEW! I told you, a crazy weekend, but well worth it. It was so nice to see Mom and Dad Breinholt, K&K, J&J, and all the kids. K&K's kids are getting so big! It's crazy how fast they grow when you don't live near by. Hopefully we'll get have a longer visit to Utah sometime soon. So thanks everyone for a great weekend in Utah and we were so glad we could be there for Kami's special day!

P.S Texas beat OU! Heath and I (and Kent and Ben) were checking on the score via our phones throughout the day. The nailbiting game ended with a Texas win which allowed me to wear my O Who? shirt home with pride. Great job Horns! Now let's just finish the season off with all wins! Hook 'Em!

The Flu Epidemic Strikes The Breinholt House!

2009-09-22T09:39:00.002-05:00

Okay, so it might not be the flu but both of us have been sick for about two weeks now. Fun stuff. Heath brought home this lovely vistor from school and he has been lounging around in our throats ever since. But hey, if we just got our flu fun time over for the season then I am grateful. There is some pretty nasty stuff going around and it seems like we got the milder of it all.

In other....more interesting news. We went to our first UT game last weekend. We missed our first one due to my cousin's funeral and the second one was an away game. The best part was that our friends Tami and Jason came for this one. My parents have 4 season tickets and their best friends usually go but they were away this weekend and so Tami and Jason bought them. They stayed with us (and hopefully don't get sick) and we had a blast hanging out with them. The game was pathetic. We won but made a lot of mistakes. Our seats are pretty cool but the students never sit down so needless to say my lower back was killing me by the end of the game. All in all a great time.

Last night we finally made plans with Heath parents to go up to SLC for Kami's wedding. We are really excited to see everyone up there and share in Kami's special day.

That is pretty much it for the updates. Just school, UT football, and work around here right now.

Mourning an Early Morning Call

2009-09-02T08:53:00.003-05:00

Last night I was woken up by a phone call. Late night phone calls are never good, especially if they come from my parents. Mom just came out with it " Colin was in an accident and he didn't make it." What? This was a dream right. It wasn't. It was real and for the third time my life has been changed by someone I know being in a fatal car accident. Being in Austin it is hard to feel the true impact of this situation yet. I don't even know what to think, what to say, what to do. I just laid there silently crying for my aunt and uncle, who would now have to bury their only son.

My emotions are so mixed because I have the peace and knowledge that comes from the Gospel and know with all my heart that this life is not the end, but the beginning. But also you cannot help but miss those people who are taken from this life and grieve that missing part of your life that you used to know. I know I will see him again someday, but it doesn't lessen the grief and sadness I feel right now, right here.

We grew up visiting my aunt, uncle, and two cousins in Wolf City. I had fun walking all over town, buying sack fulls of candy at the only gas station, and playing with my two wonderful cousins in a beautiful victorian home that belonged to my aunt and uncle. I spent a few weeks there almost every summer. Colin could be a little stubborn, but he was a great uncle to my cousin Heather's kids and was active in almost everything in that small town of Wolf City. I remember when I got married and the first Christmas he met Heath and the two got along so well. They exchanged numbers in case Heath ever wanted to hear stories about me growing up. That was Colin. A people person of people of all generations. I know he is in a better place, but we will miss him a lot down here.

Where has the time gone?

2009-08-20T10:49:00.002-05:00

To facebook games my friend. Tis sad but true. I have become, what is the saying?, exactly what I hate. Obsessed with games. But hey, I am back, and have regained control over my life...at least enough to write you a little update. Let's review the past couple weeks...

Friday the 31st we drove down to DFW to surprise Ben for his birthday. It wasn't much of a surprise as he told us he was expecting it. Well poo. We had a fantastic weekend staying at Ben and Mer's which was awesome. It was so fun to be around them all day and get to have a sleepover with Syd and Malla. They are such great kids and we miss them so much. Thanks so much to Ben and Mer for letting us crash at your home and feed us all weekend. We had a great time and can't wait for future slumber parties.

That Monday, my brother and I headed into downtown Austin for the Counting Crows concert. It was our birthday presents to each other since we both love the CC's. It was a really fun concert at a great place. I have lower back issues and can't stand that long so I made my brother give up our great standing places to head up stairs so I could sit down. Getting old is hard :) It was a fun night and another reason why I love being in Austin. I get lots more quality time with my bro, whom I've grown to love as we've gotten older. Fun times!

Two weeks later we headed back down to DFW to celebrate my dad's birthday (and Kami's :) ). My brother aslo bought his first new car at the same dealership we got our CR-V. We also went to a Rangers game for my dad's b-day and just had a blast hanging out with my family. We sadly didn't get to see Ben, Mer and the girls, but maybe it's a good thing considering they were all sick :).

Nothing much has been going on. Just getting ready for Heath to start school next week and just putting the little things away in the apartment from moving. I'm hoping to have pictures soon, so stay tuned for the good stuff. Everything is going well and we are still loving being here. Hope all is good with you!

The New Adventures of Xhaxhi and Halla

2009-07-23T07:54:00.002-05:00

Okay, okay I know everyone is on the edge of their seats waiting for an update. All three of you at least :). We are officially Austinites, and it feels great (minus the whole missing everyone is DFW part). But honestly, we are enjoying being here so far, and if you haven't heard from us much, it is because we are trying not to focus on all that we miss back in Fort Worth. Not to mention, we are still unpacking. So the trip down was pretty uneventful with a few hiccups and highlights. Thanks to a lot of great help Friday we got everything into the truck and were ready to go Saturday morning.

Saturday morning we shifted a few things so we could fit all the people (and pets!) into my mom's convertible (brilliant I know). So during this overhaul of the moving truck my mom manages to misplace the keys to her car-you know the one parked in front of the driveway, the one we were driving down to Austin, and the one that doesn't have another set because a long time ago they hid them from us and now can't find them. Hehe. Luckily my dad had a valet key so we were able to use that, and so later than expected we started our trek down to Austin. About 5 minutes on the road my mom says in her best worried voice "Oh my gosh, the truck is open" and starts pounding on the horn to warn my dad. I look at her puzzled and say "Are you talking about the picture....that is PAINTED on the back of the truck?" She calms down, realizes her mistake, and we laugh...a lot. In fact, many times on the trip we continue to laugh about that, and will for many years I am sure. Hehe love yah mom.

We got there and started unloading, and unloaded, and unpacked, and unpacked some more. And we are still unpacking. But things are coming together and we really love the apartment. Mom and Dad helped so much and we are really grateful for all they have done for us this move. Thanks for your hard work and for your contributions to making our apartment feel like home. Love you guys.

So that's pretty much it. We are just getting settled in and enjoying getting to know our new area. We miss you guys and hope all is well! Come visit soon!

Oh, and in case you were wondering, we found the keys, in the truck, as we were unloading. :)

The Good and the Bad

2009-07-15T12:39:00.002-05:00

The Good:
Farewell Parties! Mer and Mom threw us a great party to set us off on our new adventure. We had lots of people show up, ate lots of good food, and had lots of fun. We also got some great gifts (which were not needed), but the best one had to be this scrapbook that Tami made me. We have been friends since 7th grade, and she made this great book of all our memories throughout the years. It was awesome and made me teary eyed. It was so nice to sit with some of our favorite people and visit before we leave this weekend. My aunt and grandma even came from like 3 hours away. Very nice. Thanks Mer and Mom for such a great night. We love you.

The Bad:
My internet decided to go out TWO days before I was done using it. This normally wouldn't be a problem because I could live without blogging and facebook for two days, but now I work from home and this pretty much ruined my day. Stupid ATT morons. They were going to expediate my service repair to Thursday around noon. I would pretty much be done with working for the week by then. Again, MORONS. So we just took my work station to my parent's and I will be camping over there for the next two days working. Bah, stupid, stupid ATT. As you can see, I'm not quite over the incompetence that is ATT internet. I will NEVER, EVER, EVER give them another chance. EVER.

So anyways. We are almost all packed. We have some wonderful friends and volunteers coming on Friday to help, and Saturday we will be living in Austin. Crazy. I don't think it's hit me yet that this is it. No more DFW. Yikes. Time for new adventures!

Change of Plans

2009-07-07T07:26:00.001-05:00

So we received a call yesterday offering us a deal on another apartment we had looked at a couple blocks away from the one we were planning on renting. They offered us 50% off the rent for 9 months. That brought the rent down to 373 a month!! 373! We couldn't believe it either. So we are going to take it, but there was a stipulation. We have to move July 18th instead of in August. That is next week! So needless to say we are going crazy packing and hopefully everything will pull together and it will be a smooth transition. It stinks that we have to leave early, but it will be nice to get an early start on getting used to living in a new place. I think we are just really excited about being on our own for once and not so dependent on the people around us. We love, I mean LOVE having family near by, but I think we'll do a lot of growing up as a couple out in Austin. I am excited for the change and the new doors this will open, and sad for the loved ones we will leave behind. I will miss watching Sydney and Mallory grow each day. They brighten my life, and it will be hard not to be near them. I will miss teasing Ben and my talks with Mer. I will miss dropping by my parent's and spending time with them. And I will definately miss all my friends here, because really friends are my life and they bring me such joy. But hopefully I will find all these things in Austin and we will be just as happy. I can't believe it is coming so soon. The apartment is almost all packed (thanks to Mom and Heath!). The days are speeding by. Soon we will be in Austin. I hope everyone knows how much we will miss them and appreciate what they have meant to us these past couple years!

Adventures in Austin Land

2009-06-23T10:24:00.003-05:00

This weekend we headed down to Austin for a little fun and some move prep. We left Friday to spend the night with my brother in the good ol' Bastrop. He showed us a good time by taking us to Big Mouth's for some delicious food and then Cindy's (Heath's second bar ever) for some free Shuffleboard and to watch the Longhorns weasle their way into the College World Series (I say weasle because they made some stupid moves and didn't deserve to win, but hey I'm glad they did). Then after a long night of "partying" with Mateo we had to get some rest to wake up early to meet with our apartment locater.

Which brings us to Saturday. The worst day EVER. At least for me. It was so stressful working with this guy and trying to find something that fit our criteria in Austin. The prices are outrageous, the amenties are scant, and new is a relative term when it involves being near campus. Before we even left the locator's office I was almost in tears. He was saying we would be lucky if we got W/D connections, lucky if we even got a 1b/1b with a study, and lucky if we got into anything built after the 80's. Ugh. We were leaving this beautiful spacious apartment in DFW for what seemed like a rat hole in Austin. Each place we went to got a little better, but man it was horrible. My parents made it in town right before I had a total meltdown. We finally found a place we loved and really thought we'd end up there. So we left the locater and headed off to eat. I was feeling sick and itchy, but chopped it down to a long day of walking around the Austin heat stressed out about crap apartments. So we hit up the local HEB (grocery store) and got some snacks for the hotel. My mom took one look at me a gave me this worried look. I said "What?" She asked why I was breakng out. I looked down. I was covered in hives. Haha I had literally stressed my self out into hives! Who does that? Me and my worrying problems apparently. So we snatched some Benadryl off the shelf and some water and I downed two pills and started to feel better.

Too bad the Benadryl worked TOO well. I slept the rest of the day and night. I missed my brother's friend's band, Paperwork ,rock it out on 6th street (which made me really sad). Hopefully I'll catch them in August! Heath had a great time though and ended up staying on 6th street with my dad and brother until 2 AM. Crazy stuff.

I'll fast forward you through the rest. We ended up finding the perfect apartment and will be moving in on August 15th. We got our Season Tickets for Football (priorities right?!). We took care of a financial aid problem. We drove home. And now we are closer to getting everything together for the move. Phewh. ONE LONG WEEKEND, but fun. Here is a pic of the new apartments.

New Car!

2009-06-10T10:36:00.004-05:00

This is so random but yes we have a new car. A lot of craziness has happened this week and it is only Wednesday. We have been thinking for awhile now that if Heath got into UT that we would downsize to one car because we just wouldn't need two there with the public transportation and all. So yesterday we made two cars turn into one. We have been looking at small SUV's/Crossovers for a couple years now. So we had it narrowed down to the Honda CR-V and the Saturn VUE. We just loved everything about the CR-V and decided to get it. The great news is that we are now unleashed from the horrible lease we were in with the Corolla and they paid it all off and gave us money for the Camry which is pretty awesome! We also get to have WAY cheaper insurance which is great. It was a little sad saying goodbye to my first car (the Camry my dad bought me) and our first car as a couple (the Corolla), but we are excited about the new car and think it is perfect for us. We love it more everytime we see it, and it is just one more step to make the move to Austin a little easier!

Bittersweet

2009-06-08T11:04:00.002-05:00

So I'll start with the sweet. We FINALLY heard from UT and Heath is happy to announce he is now a true Longhorn! We will be heading down to start school this Fall and couldn't be happier about it. Heath worked really hard for this (and had no faith in himself!-silly Heath) and I am just so happy he is going where he really wanted to be. We will be heading down to Austin sometime mid-August. So now we can finally plan and pick out a place to live. The only problem- there are a million apartment complexes there! Luckily my brother has been living in the area for like 8 years so we should get some tips from him. So that is the good news.

The bitter part is leaving. Leaving friends. Leaving family (my parents and of course Ben, Mer and my sweet nieces Syd and Malla). Leaving this place we know so well to go somewhere new. And most of all bitter, the decision to not purchase the puppy. With all the new fees about to come our way, we have just decided it would not be wise to add onto that financial burden with adding in another dog. I am so sad about this, but know it is the right decision. Bah, but not my favorite. So we are very excited and can't wait to experience all the new fun that Austin will provide for us. Thanks for everyones prayers and well wishes! Hook em Horns!

Pupdate!

2009-06-07T11:32:00.003-05:00

Look who is all grown up and ready to come home.......a week early! Yep, that's right. The breeder has some conflicts (her daughter's wedding) the weekend we were supposed to pick her up so we get to go snatch her away this Friday and bring her home. She'll be about 3 days short of 8 weeks instead of 8 1/2 weeks so it is no biggy. We are so excited...and scared at the same time. Hopefully everything works out fine with the new pup and Ally!

A visit from.... Jill!

2009-06-04T15:15:00.004-05:00

*These are older pictures from 2006 of Jill and Heath jamming.* I couldn't find any new ones.

This week we got a phone call from our friend Jill asking if she could come over. Jill is one of my very best friends who I met around the same time as Heath. She was my visiting teacher in the Hurst Singles Ward and we quickly became the best of friends. She was even a bridesmaid at my wedding! Well she has been lost in the world of Grad school these past two years and I have hardly got to see her. She graduated last month and is now free to have fun! So she came over and we had a blast doing what we do best....just hanging out. It was so nice to see her and see her so happy. I think graduating from a really hard program will do that for you. So we are just so proud of her and her accomplishment and glad she got to come and spend some time with us.

Other than that we are just waiting, waiting, waiting. Waiting for Sophie to be 8 weeks old so we can go pick her up, waiting to see if Heath gets into UT so we can make plans, and just waiting to see where we'll be living in the next couple months! Hopefully everything is going well with all of ya'll!

Weekend Update

2009-05-17T09:31:00.004-05:00

This last week has been pretty crazy because I have been working both for HCA and Presby. I am PRN (as needed) at Presby and so whenever they get behind they give me a call and I come in. It was so great to see everyone there and walk in with everyone yelling "Adrienne!". They still treat me like a member of the team and that feels great. It wasn't really that bad working two jobs, but I like just having one :). Heath got his grades in this week also. Two A's and two B's. We are so proud of him! So all of that started the weekend of well. Extra money and good grades!

Friday, as I was working at Presby, I got a text message from my friend Brindee asking if we wanted to go to the Rangers game with her and her husband. We went and had a lot of fun and some quite funny moments. This crazy hybrid looking spider was in the car with us and we couldn't kill him so we spent the entire trip to Arlington with our hand on the door handles ready to escape. I am still trying to look up what the heck that thing was. Anyone know what a red spider that looks like a giant, hairy red ant is? Other than that the night was great. The game was awesome and the Rangers won. We had about 4 fly balls come into our section and didn't get one! Most of all we just had fun getting to know Wes and Brindee some more. Thanks guys, for some great last minute fun.

Saturday my parents invited us to go see the movie Angels and Demons. We went to the Movie Tavern and it was pretty awesome. They serve you restaraunt quality meals as you sit and watch the movie. Heath and I split the Teriyaki Steak and Chicken and it was delicious. The movie was pretty good too. I haven't read the books, but my dad has, and he says it is nothing like the book.

We had a great weekend and now we are just waiting to hear from UT and hopefully we'll have more good news soon!

Pupdate, Star Trek, and the Final Countdown

2009-05-11T15:09:00.005-05:00

The breeder posted new pictures of the pup and Sophie is finally looking like a little schnauzer. She is about 3 weeks now which means only 5 more weeks to go before we can introduce her to Ally. Can't wait! I am so excited to see her interact with the pup and have a friend to play with. We are both pretty excited about the new pup coming home and think it'll be great all around.

Saturday we went to the Star Trek movie. The awesome thing was that as we were waiting for the movie to start I looked down at the entrance and who was there? Joey and Kira (and some of Joey's step family)! It was a nice surprise and made the movie that much better. The movie was actually really good. I never was really into Star Trek growing up, but I really enjoyed this movie. There were also some interesting previews for great movies in the future. Should be a good Summer.

This week is finals week for Heath. He took his Calculus exam today and then has Physics and History on Thursday and then his semester is over. He is looking for a good Summer job right now so if anyone knows of a good position please let us know! Now we're just waiting for his grades to be sent to UT and hear back from them. Hopefully it'll be good news! That's pretty much it for now.

Bastrop, Texas- Population: Small Town Wonderful

2009-04-30T08:42:00.007-05:00

So this last weekend Heath, my mom, Ally (our dog), and I packed into the 4Runner for a little adventure down to visit my brother. He lives in this cute little town called Bastrop which is about 45 minutes away from Austin. We had a blast. Friday night we headed out to the only big name sit down restaurant in town: Chili's. After getting stuffed we got tucked into his one bedroom apartment all cozy and went to bed sometime after 2. Saturday we got up and visited some houses closer to Austin that Heath and I have been looking at. We're thinking of maybe having Matt move in with us if he can fight off the 3 other people also wanting him to move in with them (he's very popular you see). Then we headed into Austin and watched a UT baseball game (with red faces to prove it), shopped at our favorite store (The Co-Op), and ate some yummy food at Trudy's (best mexican food around). After that we headed back to Matt's for some good ol' fun, Bastrop style. Matt took us to their entertainment center (which consists of their really crappy movie theaters (4 small ones), miniature golf, crappy bowling lanes, and a gameroom. We hit up the glow-in-the-dark mini-golf (which was actually fun) and saw the movie 'The Knowing' in Crappy Theater #3. The movie was pretty good...minus the very loud, small-minded teenagers sitting behind us. Other than that it was a great time. The next day we went and looked at some more houses, stopped by the Pecan store (Berdoll Frams-they have the best treats!), and then headed back to Matt's to pack up and leave. Oh Bastrop, Texas how we will miss your quaint charm and loveliness. Thanks Matt, for a great mini vacation!

New Addition!

2009-04-22T06:55:00.003-05:00

We are so excited to announce a new addition to our family......a beautiful white miniature schnauzer baby! (I realized no matter how I put it, people would think I was pregnant or something, so I just went with it). She was born early this morning (That is her in the picture above, they always look strange as newborns) and will stay with her mom until she is 8 weeks old and then come home with us. The breeder is in Oklahoma and so we'll get to do a little road trip to pick her up in June.

It was a crazy process though. I'm pretty sure I have about three new medical problems due to the stress and anxiety of waiting for these pups to be born. See you have to be put on an e-mail waiting list and then when the pups are born, the breeders shoot out an e-mail, and it's first come, first serve. We lost out on the first litter we were waiting for because I didn't realize how fast people responded. The first litter was born Tues around 3 a.m.. I responded at 7 a.m. and they were all gone! Crazy! So I set my phone up to text me when I received an e-mail from them so I could have a heads up, and I still almost lost out this morning and I responded within 6 minutes of getting the text (stupid laptop not being on!). I mean I was toting my phone, the laptop, and my check card everywhere with me. It was pathetic.

We are so excited though. It will give Ally a friend which I think she has missed. My older dog Missy (also a schnauzer) practically raised her and they were best buds and then she passed away. I think she has missed that companionship for a while now and that's why she has the seperation issues and stuff. Anywho, were really excited and can't wait to see her- her name is Sophie, we already picked it out, okay I did, because I have always wanted a schnauzer named Sophie. More updates on Sophie to come!

Life on Hold

2009-04-19T17:14:00.003-05:00

Things have been going pretty good lately. I've been working at home for about two weeks now, and although it is hard to concentrate sometimes, I really am enjoying it. Right now I just feel like life is on hold waiting for Heath to find out about UT and everything. I am a big planner so it's driving me nuts not being able to know where we'll be living, etc, etc. Nothing much is going on. Just school, work, church, friends, and family. Pretty much the same. Hopefully more interesting things will happen next week :)

Car For Sale!

2009-04-02T05:41:00.003-05:00

So we are trying to sell our 2006 Toyota Corolla. Now that I have a job from home, we won't really need two cars and would like to save some money. So if you know of ANYONE who might be interested in it let us know!

Here are some details about it:
5 speed manual (fun to drive and easy to learn how to, if I can drive it, anyone can!), only 35K miles, new tires, mantinenced by Toyota every 5k, Silver with cloth interior, power windows and locks, CD player, gets awesome gas mileage and usually costs less than 20 dollars to fill up! Plus, not to mention it's a Toyota which means it lasts forever and keeps its value!

We are asking $11,000 for it, but may be able to come down on the price a little bit!

Please, please, please let us know if you know anyone that needs/wants a great little car. Thanks!

Starting new and letting go...

2009-03-26T16:10:00.004-05:00

So I've been at the new job for the past two weeks and so far I LOVE IT. I think it is the perfect work environment for me. Lots of options, flexibility, and just the right amount of socialization so I don't go crazy. It'll be interesting to see how it really is when I move to home. But so far so good.
In other random news ....
I was contemplating my "infertility" issues the other day (since April will be our one year mark for trying) and I really feel like I have movedon from where I was a couple months ago. I really feel like I've put more trust and faith in the Lord lately and realize that he knows what is best for us and probably has great plans in store, well not probably, but does. So pretty much I am just a happy camper right now and hope that I continue to learn and grow from everything (Don't get me wrong, I'll still yearn, and hope, and vent), but I feel like I am really letting go and giving this to the Lord. Baby steps right?

Well hope all is well with ya'll. Have a great weekend.

I'm exhausted!

2009-03-17T20:02:00.002-05:00

So my new job started this week and so far everything has gone well, but really all I've done is orientation so it's hard to really tell anything yet. Today, after getting up at 6, leaving for Irving at 7, having orientation from 8:30-4:30, driving in horrible traffic from 4:30-5:30, and then heading off to Presby-Denton to code from 5:30-7:30, I can honestly say I'm exhausted, VERY EXHAUSTED! So I guess this is how it's going to be for the next little while. Why, you ask, are you so crazy? Well, I kind of left Presby in a bad situation and so I said I would stay on PRN (as needed) to help out and most of all to make some extra money. It's a way better PT job than any Heath could get and this allows him to concentrate on his schooling and do well so he can get into Austin. So I am trying to get 20 hours a week at Presby while doing 40 for HCA, so it should get interesting. It'll be better when I start working from home and get an earlier start to the day. Wish me luck!

New Job!

2009-03-04T19:35:00.003-06:00

So you are looking at the new Coder II for HCA. I got a call today extending an offer of employment and I accepted. The pay isn't a ton better, but it's better. The benefits of working from home will be great. To be honest, I am very nervous about this new job and change. I hate change. Despite all that, I am really excited to start and extra happy to be able to work from home. This will be such a blessing for us in the future and if Heath gets into UT-Austin I will still have this job. So my last day with Presby will be Friday March 13th and I'm actually kind of sad about it. I love the people at work, but this is just a better oppurtunity for us. I start orientation on Monday, March 16th. Things are going to happen fast. I'll keep you posted.

2009-03-04T09:36:00.001-06:00

Job Update coming soon......

Updates! Colleges, Moving?, and Jobs Oh My!

2009-02-27T12:14:00.002-06:00

Well Heath finally applied to UT and UNT last week. He received a letter this week from UT stating that all his classes would not transfer and that he was short of being considered a Transfer Student. That's the bad news. The good news is that they're allowing him to turn his transcript in after this semester to still be considered. This makes me think two things:

1. They are actually considering him because otherwise they probably would have just sent him a denial letter.
and,
2. I think they really are looking to see how he will do in his Physics and Calculus classes since they are two of the prereqs they look at (the other one is Chemistry which he did great in) . He is currently doing awesome in these two classes too! Yay Heath!

So we are going to have to wait until May/June to know if he gets into UT. This throws off most of our plans considering I was becoming quite comfortable with staying here, but I am always up to UT and Austin. I practicaly grew up there via Longhorn football and my brother lives there so it would be great. But again I would be okay with UNT considering my job is here, our friends and family (most of them :)) are here, and I know the area like the back of my hand. So we are just waiting to find out and the great thing is that we would like either option so it is a win-win situation.

As for other news, I was afraid to blog about this, in fear of jinxing it in some sort of superstitious way, but I am currently interviewing with HCA for a better job oppurtunity. I had the initial interview on Wednesday (which I thought went well), and tonight I have the coding test. It is for a Coder II position and I would get to work from home. Not only that but it offers better pay, better benefits, and just pretty much everything better. I am really hoping this works out because it would be perfect for us. If I got this job, even if we did move to Austin, I could still work for them since it is remote (from home). I love most everything about my current job but this one just offers a better situation for our future. I'll keep you posted on how everything goes. Wish me luck!

The Sickies

2009-02-09T08:22:00.002-06:00

So Heath and I have finally overcome the Texas Epidemic. It first started with him getting sick and then a week later me and then a week after that our friend Kira. Sorry Kira! I got it worse than them all of course thanks to my pretty non existant immune system. I had a visit to the doctor that ended with a nice shot in the bum and some antibiotics (my absolute enemy in this world). So we are finally well and loving it.

This weekend we ventured out to a neighborhood we've been looking at and took a peek at their homes. It is called Sendera Ranch and is located in Haslet, not too far from where we live right now. We loved a couple of the houses and they are actually in our price range. We were pre-approved for a home, but aren't pursuing it due to the lack of funds we currently have. I don't make as much as I should because of high insurance, FSA account, 401K, and taxes being taken out. So actually I am looking for a raise or a new job so we can get into one in the near future. It was fun to go look and realize that our dream of owning a home isn't that far away. The great thing about this neighborhood (if we stay in this area, it's all dependent on where Heath goes to school) is that it is like a little community. It is a huge neighborhood with lots of parks, pools, schools, and even a market center. It would be a great starter home and a great place to raise a family.

So we are just concentrating on saving money and looking forward to all the great oppurtunities in the future. We would appreciate your prayers for us concerning Heath's school choices and getting into school and also new job oppurtunities that have come my way. Thanks for your love and support!

Fertility Funhouse, it ain't that fun!

2009-01-21T09:02:00.005-06:00

So I completely agree that matters like this are private and between husband, wife, and the Lord, but gosh darn it, I am just really over all this "trying to conceive" business.

Most may look at us and think "When are they going to have kids?" or "Are they putting money before family?" or the like, and I can honestly and bitterly shout WE WOULD LOVE TO! and NO WE ARE NOT! Recently I have found many other women who struggle with fertility and even pregnancy issues and have found peace and understanding in their stories. So maybe, just maybe someone out there is looking for my story.

Heath and I started along this road about a year ago. It just 'clicked' in both of us that we were ready to start a family. I was extremely excited because, well heck, I have been ready since Day 1 of marriage. There was just one thing I needed to do in order to prepare. Visit with the doctor. I decided to do a pre-pregnancy check-up. I was concerned about a gene that my cousin's family had- the Factor X gene. It is the number one cause of autism and retardation. Not that the results would change things for us, but it was something that I wanted to get checked out. So a needle puncture later we were waiting for results back from the chromosome analysis. Two weeks later I headed into the doctor for the results. I sat nervously waiting for the doctor. She came and plainly stated "Well you don't have Fragile X". I was relieved. She went on...."But it does look like you are missing part of one of your X chromosomes." Wait? What? What the heck does this mean? What will it mean? She went on to say "You should either not get pregnant or do IVF." I left. I walked down the hall. Down the stairs. I opened the door. I walked towards my car. And then it happened. I just let loose and cried my eyes out. I saw my dreams, my biggest dream, slowly slipping away. How could this be? This was completely disheartening to me considering how naive I was about the whole process (for example: the fact that you only have a 20% chance to get pregnant each month anyway!)

The following week or so I visited with a Genetic Counselor who eased my worries and explained things much better than the OB/GYN (remember doctors don't know everything, especially those incompetent in genetic issues). So pretty much the deal was this: Women who are missing a whole X chromosome have Turner's Syndrome, I did not have Turner's and did not exhibit any Turner's signs or symptoms, I can not give my children Turner's (well not anymore than any other woman, Turner's happens when the cells are dividing, just like my abnormality), and most comforting: I am not weird. Hehe I liked that last one. What it could mean: early menopause (like age 30), Premature Ovarian Failure (again, like age 30), and a harder time conceiving a boy (since most likely if they received my "broken" X then the pregnancy would miscarry). All equal a high possibility of infertility. Boy do I hate that word. Other feelings attached to that word are incapable, incompetent, and inability. I felt those things in the following months, along with anger, bitterness, pity, loathing, emptiness, unhappiness, jealousy, unfairness, loneliness, and a lot, I mean a lot, of misunderstanding.

So we went on trying each month without any good news. The first months were full of disappointment and even fear. Fear that something inside of me was broken. I felt like a complete failure as a woman and especially as a wife. I felt alone and worthless at moments. Heath was amazing. He didn't understand, but he was amazing. He tried so hard to make me feel better, but I was a constant vacationer on the island of self pity. So more months went by and I just became angry. I resented anything that dealt with pregnancy (especially at work when I would work on charts that dealt with 15 year olds who were pregnant or talked with people who almost regretted having children). I asked Why? How?. I begged with Heavenly Father. I even thought I was being punished by Heavenly Father. I was miserable and I'm pretty sure it was miserable to be around me. I yearned for pregnancy, the feeling of an infant in my arms, and just had a desire to begin our little family. But nothing happened. 10 months have passed and still nothing. Don't get me wrong, I know my time in the land of infertility has been short compared to others, but it is still painful, it still feels lonely, and it still feels empty.

And for those of you on the edge of your seats wondering.....this story doesn't end in pregnancy, at least not yet.

At about month 6, due to my 'high risk' for infertility, I saw a fertility specialist. I got a pelvic sonogram done and some blood tests and everything checked out perfectly. 4 months have passed since then and still nothing, and I'm finally okay with that. I'm not saying it doesn't hurt each month and I don't cry sometimes. And I'm not saying that I don't still feel pangs of jealousy or bitterness when friends or even strangers announce/flaunt their pregnancy(as they should! It's great news and I would too!), but it is becoming okay. I am okay because of a plan. Heavenly Father's plan and the knowledge that I know he cares, he knows me, and he hears me. A part of me is so grateful that pregnancy has not been easy for me. I now know the pain and grief that is attached to infertility and the feelings that you experience. It is especially hard because you feel left out at church when things are centered around being a mom, taking care of kids, and it seems like everyone is pregnant. I know that things will happen, whatever they will be, in God's time. God it perfect in his timing, and the timing is always perfect. I am extremely grateful for this time Heath and I have to become closer, to prepare for the future, and just grow as a family of two, but look, with hope, at the future and what it holds, whatever it may be.

Sleepover Fun with Sydney!

2009-01-12T07:02:00.004-06:00

Sydney had been asking if she could spend the night with us for awhile now, so Friday we made plans and she came over to stay. It was so cute. She had a rolling suitcase with all of her favorite things (even her ceramic toothbrush holder because according to her "I will just miss it". hehe).

So she came over around 5 and we played a little Rock Band (she loves to play drums) and after we were done we made dinner. We had hot dogs and veggies and then for dessert we had S'mores (marshmallows were roasted in the oven). She of course was more interested in the S'mores than anything else (She had two :)). So then we watched Meet the Robinson's and Tinkerbell. And I will admit, I actually liked the Tinkerbell movie. In fact, Sydney got bored in the middle of it and started jumping on the bed, and Heath and I stood there with our eyes glued to the TV. Pretty sad. Well after that we got Syd's jammers on, brushed her teeth, read her a book, and watched some illustrated scriptures off the LDS website. Then we said ours prayers and went to bed.

It was the longest night of my life. Only because I am not used to having children in our home, so I was constantly worried about her waking up or needing something. So we all tossed and turned all night and finally around 4:30 or so we got some good sleep. Then we woke up around 8:30 to eat breakfast. We had pancakes with strawberries and bacon and eggs (oh and if you ask Sydney she'll tell you we allowed her to put jellybeans on her pancakes.....and it's true! hehe, the perks of being the aunt and uncle). So then we got dressed, or should I say got Sydney dressed, and then barely had time for us to throw on some clothes before heading out to clean the church with Ben and Mer. I now know why mothers don't have time for themselves. :)

Needless to say we had a great time and the next day when she was tired and cranky from not getting sleep and having too much sugar we handed her back over to the parents. Hehe, how great! But seriously we really enjoyed having her over and are grateful every day for being so close to family and getting to enjoy things like this. We love spending time with them!

And to finish the weekend off we had a lot of fun with Joey and Kira, and I even worked on my apron that I am making with my new sewing machine from Christmas. I got a pocket done (Mom Breinholt would be proud!), woo hoo!

Hope you all had a fun weekend too! Love yah!

Getting old, babysitting, and Christmas Fun!

2008-12-23T10:59:00.004-06:00

Lots has been happening lately. I am officially 25.

Friday the 12th, my dad took us out to eat at Chili's for my birthday. Mom was MIA due to illness, but we had a lot of fun. Dad brought a gift of Brighton earrings and money, and I also received my birthday card/cash from the Breinholt's. Thanks a bunch!!

Saturday the 13th was my birthday and I had a ton of fun. My good friend Tami (who I've known since 7th grade, That's like 12 years!) took me out to lunch and bought me a cute shirt. I love getting together with her, it always seems like no time has passed since the last time and we always get along. She is an amazing person too, very kind and caring. After that I went out to eat with Heath, Jill, Josh, Joey, Kira, and Brian (another friend from high school). We went to OTB and had a blast. Then all of us minus Brian went bowling. Josh embarrassed me with a 198. That's not even fair considering he doesn't even like bowling. Doesn't everyone know you let the birthday girl win?

After all that fun, we all went back to the apartment, ate some candy, played some Adrienne Trivia (quite funny), and just hung out. Jill spent the night (since we never see her due to Grad school) and we stayed up till 5 am (I would like to point out that this was quite a feat considering I usually go to bed at 9).

Needless to say it was a long and fun weekend.

Last night, the 22nd, we got to babysit for Ben and Mer. What fun!! I think we played different variations of Hot Potatoe for about an hour and loved every minute of it. Sydney is just such a sweet little girl and we had so much fun playing with her. Malla was excellent and even let me feed her, which she is usually picky about. Just a great night. We loved it. Happy Anniversary Ben and Mer!

Now we are getting ready for Christmas and so excited to spend time with the Breinholt's Christmas Eve ( even the Utah ones via webcam!), and Christmas Day with the Barnette's, and the weekend with my mom's side of the family. What fun!

Hope you all are staying warm and staying safe as you travel. We love you all and wish you a very, Merry Christmas!

Holy Smokes! The year is almost over!

2008-12-11T10:52:00.004-06:00

Wow, a month usually goes by before I write another post. I guess that's what happens when you don't do anything but sleep, work, sleep, work. Can you see a pattern? It doesn't make for a very interesting blog.

This week we actually do have something to write about. Heath's parents have been in town since last Friday and we've been doing lots of fun things with them ever since. Heath is like a child at Christmas when he learns his parents are visiting, it is so cute. Although I am like that too when it has been awhile since I've seen mine.....In fact it has been a whole week since I've seen them :) (I guess Heath wins on the whole not seeing family for awhile thing). So anyways we've been eating good food, telling fun stories (mostly funny ones to our neice about Heath as a child, she loves them, hehe), and just having fun together. We are especially grateful this holiday season that they were able to come visit. We love spending time with them and I know Heath missed them a lot!

Heath also had finals this week, which he did awesome on, as usual, and I had mandatory overtime (fun, fun). So that has pretty much been our week, trying to fit in as much as possible, and boy am I exhausted! (In fact I probably owe everyone who's been around me the past couple days an apology for how cranky I've been, I'm sorry, I'm tired!).

So it is Christmas time and boy do I love it. Although I think it brings out the best in people, I have to say these Winter months don't bring out the best in me. When I was younger I was diagnosed with depression. Winter is the hardest time for me because there is not as much sunlight (especially if you go into work when it is dark and come out of work when it is dark), and that just messes with my head. Plus I think, if you have an attitude like mine, you get towards the end of the year and think about all the things you wished you had done instead of all the things you accomplished. So I am going to do it both ways and say all the things I am thankful for that happened in 2008 and all the things I wish for in 2009 (or the near future):

Great in 2008:
1. Graduating college
2. Getting a job right after graduating
3. Heath going back to school
4. Ben and Mer not moving to Nashville (Sorry guys, we would have died)
5. Friends and Family (especially Heath)

Hopes for 2009:
1. Heath getting into either of his choice schools
2. Having our first baby
3. Getting a house (this would be a near future one).
4. Heath graduating soon (again, near future)
5. Ben and Mer moving where ever we end up (PLEAAASSEEE?!?!)

Well, I am just so grateful for all that I have and all that is to come. I hope all of you are enjoying this holiday season. Have a great weekend and stay warm!

Mourning the good life.....

2008-11-20T15:17:00.002-06:00

So we are officially P O O R. We are giving up our satelite subscription (no more cheesy CW shows or The Office :( ) and trying to find other ways to help save money also. It is sad saying goodbye to the life of "luxury" we've grown used to, but alas it must be done.

In other...better....news, we celebrated Heath's 25th birthday last weekend (true belated style due to tests in school) by going out to eat with my parents at OTB (On The Border) and had some cake at home. It stinks when you get to the age where you need to use birthday gifts for bills, no fun. Thanks Mom and Dad Breinholt and Barnette from Heath for wonderful gifts!

Next week, among many other celebrations (like Thanksgiving and the Texas/Texas A&M game) Heath and I will be celebrating three years of marriage!

I am so grateful to have such a loving, wonderful husband. I just love him to death and can't wait to see what the future years hold for us. Thank you honey for being my best friend, the love of my life, and the best darn husband ever! I love you!

Happy Belated Birthday Heath and Happy Early Anniversary to us both!

Hope everyone is safe over the holiday week and Go UT! Beat them Poor Aggies!

Under the Influence of cold medicine.....

2008-11-08T21:22:00.002-06:00

Why is that everytime I get sick, it lasts about 2 weeks or more? Why?!? I have been really sick since Wednesday and it has been miserable, and before that I was somewhat sick for about a week. Yay for incubation time. So I went to the doctor and they said it was just my sinuses (not shocking if you know me) and gave me a shot in the bum and a script for the antibiotics. Too bad it looks like it is just a cold virus that just needs to take its course. So pretty much I am on antibiotics for no reason. All I can say is pray, pray, pray that I don't get the dreadful C. Diff infection again.
So that has pretty much been my week. Just staying home and not getting to enjoy it because I am loopy off the meds and just stare at the wall. What fun!
Hope all is well with everyone else. Stay healthy!

An accident waiting to happen...

2008-10-24T05:44:00.002-05:00

So visualize....I have just eaten at Braum's and now decide to get a delicious cone of wonderful ice cream. I look at all the flavors and finally choose a holiday fovaorite of Egg Nog (it is so good!). So I had driven us to lunch today and found myself in a dilemma. See I drive a manual and so it is quite hard to drive and eat at the same time (especially with an ice cream cone). So I look at my keys and then look at my ice cream and decide this isn't going to work. But alas! my boss knows how to drive stick so I ask him if he will drive us back (I mean we were only a block away from the hospital, WHAT could happen?). So we venture into the car and head off on our "long" journey. Everything is fine and then IT happens. We are stopped at a light under a highway and the car in front of us decides to slam on its breaks.......unfortunately the car behind us decided they didn't like that idea and kept on cruising right into the back of my car. Are you serious? That is all I could think of as our lunch outing turned array. But don't worry, only minor damage was done to the car and no damage was done to all the people in the car.
Put into perspective that this is like the third time this has happened to the Corolla. We have officially deemed her jinxed as a car.
Needless to say my boss was very sorry and I was laughing, the only good thing you can do in a situation like that.
Oh P.S. in case Mer was wondering what I had done with my delicious ice cream....I put it on the ground and left it.....I wasn't thinking at the time!
Hopefully today goes better! Hope everyone is having a great week and will have an even better weekend! We love you guys!

Coccidia what?

2008-10-02T12:53:00.003-05:00

So were gone again this last weekend to Austin for a football game. Well apparently Ally didn't deal with this too well. Joey and Kira have been watching her while we're gone and she has been stressing herself out about the situation. So bad that this last weekend she ended up getting a bacterial and parasite infection. Yuck! The parasite is something that usually infects puppies and most older dogs hold an immunity to it, but she made her immune system go so down from stress that she got a rampant stomach infection. Poor baby. I'll leave the details out, but after her "symptoms" didn't leave yesterday we decided to take her into the vet and the did some tests that found out that it was Coccidia. The doctor also said she probably has an infection with the Clostridium bacteria. I personally felt sympathetic for her on this one because about a year ago I got a Clostridium infection of the human variety. IT WAS HORRIBLE. Honestly the most horrible time in my life so far. It makes you sick, sick, sick. So we got our baby some meds and brought her home to a bland meal of cooked rice and chicken (pretty spoiled for a dog) and some rest. Feel better dear Ally, feel better.

Hook em' Horns!

2008-09-22T08:56:00.002-05:00

So we finally got to go to a Longhorn game. It was against Rice though, so what does that mean....boring, boring, boring. It was still fun though. Our hotel was horrible though. We must have stayed next to smokers on a "non-smoking" floor and the smoke would seep into our room every once in awhile and it was sickening. We walked the campus and Heath got see the School of Architecture. We had a lot of fun. Thanks mom and dad for inviting us!
I was sick the whole weekend though. I think it is bad allergies/sinuses from the storms that came through with the Hurricane because I've had a headache for about a week now.
That was pretty much our weekend. Next weekend we'll be at the make up game against Arkansas, so that should be fun too.
Hope you all had a fun weekend! Love you!

Thank you Hurricane Ike......

2008-09-12T09:33:00.001-05:00

So we were all excited about this weekend because we had plans to head down to Austin for the UT vs. Arkansas game, but alas, mother nature wins again. The one weekend we have tickets (Thanks mom and dad!) a hurricane comes barreling through and it gets cancelled. No, the Longhorns aren't afraid of a little bad weather, it's just that everyone evacuating from Houston is coming up through Austin and the traffic is horrific right now! The good news is that the game has been rescheduled in two weeks! Yay! That is pretty much the news here. We are all just waiting for the bad weather to come through (the winds are supposed to be 60 mph or more) and hopefully everyone down South stays safe.
Oh, and Heath had his first interview at the Apple store yesterday and said it went really well and they are askig him back for a second next week. He is all about having this part time job because he really likes telling other people about Apple products and I think he'll enjoy it. We are just hoping he gets it to help out with saving money! Thanks honey, for being such a harfd worker! I love you!
School is also going well with him. He enjoys most of his classes and is working hard!
Love you guys! Hopefully we don't get blown away!

Weekend Update

2008-09-08T14:09:00.000-05:00

League went well on Thursday. Davy ended up leaving our team so he could start one with his girlfriend so we were pretty bummed about that considering our team won last year. There are a lot of new people and it is a little bigger so it should be fun. I got a 147, 137, and I can't remember my last game but it was pretty bad.
The concert was great on Saturday. Maroon 5 played for way too long and the Counting Crows played way to short. Personally, I think it is way below CC's to even play with someone as horrible as Maroon 5. But all in all it was a great time.
I realized fun pictures would be good for blogs like this (especially to apease all of my eager readers, you know, all three of you), but I always forget to take pictures or load them. Sorry! I'll try better!

Camping, Competition, and some Crows....

2008-09-03T11:16:00.000-05:00

So the camping trip was a big success. We forgot a few things, you know, like matches, but everything worked out just fine. We got there with enough daylight to set up camp and start dinner. Then we stayed up making Smores and talking with our friends Joey and Kira who went also. The next morning we got up to some little boy screaming that he "caught a fish grandpa!!" and attempted breakfast. I say attempted because we had left our borrowed matches out in the morning dew (not smart). Then Kira and I swam in the lake and we packed up and headed back into town. It was a really good time and not that expensive to do. After that we were supposed to go over to the Anderson's but we were really tired and had a lot of cleaning up to do so we sadly had to stay home (we always have fun with Mer's family). So that was our Labor Day and we had a blast.
Other news this week is that my bowling league starts up again on Thursday and I am super excited about it. It is pretty much a World Religions class because everyone comes from different backgrounds and different faiths and we get together with respect and have a really good time. Plus, it is the only bowling league that I know of that is smoke free and alcohol free. How great is that!? I wish more people could be aware of this great oppurtunity and come join the fun, we need more people!
Also, my brother comes into town this Friday to go to the Counting Crows concert with me on Saturday. It is his birthday present and should be a lot of fun. Heath isn't going because he doesn't really care for them and would rather stay home and save money and just jam with Joey on the guitar. So it should be some good brother-sister time.
It is a busy week and I am so excited for all the fun. Hope everyone is doing well. Love you guys.

Deep thoughts on hypocritical people...

2008-08-30T20:21:00.000-05:00

I'm so sick of people saying one thing and doing another. If you say you are poor and make everyone feel sorry for you because you are, then you better well live stinking poor. None of this going out and buying new, expensive crap and then saying you can't afford food or gas. I HATE THAT. Be smarter than that.

Labor Day Weekend!

2008-08-29T10:21:00.001-05:00

Yay, I love holiday weekends. Why you ask? Because I get to be off work and still get paid for it! Today is a half day at work (I didn't even know we had those!? It is like grade school again!) so I get to leave at 11:00 and spend some time with Heath.
Things are going pretty good here. Heath quit his job at HCA so he could go to school full time and started his semester this week at TCC. He is enjoying his classes so far and LOVES not working. He is looking into a part time job to help out and might just get a job at our Wal Mart with our friend Joey. I am just so greatful for all the hard work he put in at HCA even though he hated that job. He is so awesome!
I am still working at Presby-Denton. It has been good, although I have to admit it has been hard to motivate myself some days. I have the worst attention span and my head wonders a lot, and that is not good at a job where productivity is everything.
Both of us got callings in our Ward. I am the "Publicity Person" for Enrichment and Heath is a Ward Missionary. Is it bad to say I was a little disappointed and sad that I didn't get Heath's calling? I love missionary work because I am product of it. Drawing memos and signs for upcoming Enrichment nights just seems lame, but I am glad to get more involved with Relief Society and get to know some people (Honestly, I would have loved Nursery or Primary, but because I did that before, they wouldn't even think of me for it again). I'm sure the Lord has a plan for me in all of this but I just don't know it yet.
Last night we got to go to Chuck E Cheese's with Ben, Mer, Syd, Mal, and Cody. It was so much fun to run around with Syd and play games with her. She is such a sweet kid and we are so lucky to be able to be so close to them. We got over a 1000 tickets and got Syd some great, well junk, but fun junk. What a fun time.
A couple of weeks ago we went on a little trip to San Antonio for the weekend. It was a blast! We stayed on the Riverwalk, did some sightseeing, and went to Sea World. It was nice to get away and spend some time together and it was our first road trip together!
We are thinking about going camping this weekend, but aren't sure yet. I think that is pretty much it with us. Hope everyone is doing well and staying healthy! Love you guys!

We're alive!

2008-07-25T15:30:00.000-05:00

Well as you can see things have been busy, busy and I haven't had any time to get on this thing and update. Well, that and we currently do not have internet at our apartment so it is a lot harder to make time for the good ol' blog these days. Just a little update for what is going on with us...... Heath will be starting school at the end of August, he deferred UNT for a year and is going to attend TCC because he got grants there and only loans to UNT. I am enjoying my new job at Presby-Denton and especially enjoying not having to worry about school! Although I did sign up for my certification exam which I will have to do quite a bit of studying for. We are still enjoying the apartment and everything else is going pretty well also. We are just sitting on the edge of our seats waiting to see if Ben and Mer get this new job in Nashville. We want it for them but also will miss them a ton and can't imagine life without them. Other than that it has just been hanging out, having the girls (Sydney and Mallory) over for swimming, and just trying to relax! Hope everyone else is good. Love you all!

Go Mean Green!

2008-06-26T15:27:00.000-05:00

Well it's been awhile since I've posted and a lot has happened! Heath got into school at UNT and he starts this Fall in the School of Engineering. Yay Heath! We are all moved in to the apartment (Ally and all!). She loves living with us and we love having her with us....unless she barks! I started my new job and am loving it. It didn't take me long to get used to their programs and so things are going smoothly. I miss Amy and other aspects of my job at HEB, but I really like coding and working here. Everyone is really nice. Well, that is all I really have to say right now. I am really tired but things are good. Hope everyone is doing well. Love you.

Officially A Coder!

2008-06-06T09:30:00.000-05:00

Well I officially have a job at Presbyterian Hospital of Denton! I start Monday, June 16th and I couldn't be happier about it. It is about 10-15 minutes away from our new apartment so that will be great! This is going to be a great oppurtunity for me. It is a wonderful, huge hospital and I am getting paid great and will be trained in all areas, so I am thrilled! Yesterday I went to sign my pre-employment paperwork and take my drug test (don't worry, I'm pretty sure I passed) :) Everyone was really nice and I am looking forward to starting. My orientation takes two days and then I start coding! I think that is about all for news with us. Hope you guys are doing great!

A new place and a NEW JOB!

2008-06-04T07:52:00.000-05:00

So things have been pretty busy around here lately. The Breinholt's came down for Mallory's baby blessing and stayed for a week. Heath and I were busy with work and getting things ready for our new apartment. Yep, we finally moved out of the old parent's house and into our own place again. We LOVE our apartment. It is so nice. It is the next best thing to a house for us. We also had to buy a couple of new things. We got a washer and dryer, a vacuum, and a new mattress (our other one got mold on it from storage!). So it has been an eventful, yet expensive last week for us. We are still unpacking and trying to give everything its place but we are really enjoying it. I'll put up pictures later. And in other news.....The job hunt can end! I have been interviewing with Presby Denton Hospital for the past 2-3 weeks and yesterday they called me back with a job offer. Of course I don't know what it is yet because I didn't get the message until late last night, but it looks like I'll be starting my new coding job on the 16th (that is when they signed me up for orientation). Life is just great right now. I am almost afraid to say that in fear that we've hit our blessings quota for the month and are due for a trial soon or something, but honestly we have been so blessed lately. We truly know that Heavenly Father hears ours prayers and knows our needs. We also know we are blessed because we pay our tithing. We are just so grateful for all that we have and all the people we have to share it with. We have such wonderful family that support us (even when we go out and buy a huge TV) and that love us. We love you guys too! Hope all is well with everyone. We miss you Utah Breinholts and hope your trip back was safe!

What a trip!

2008-05-22T10:51:00.000-05:00

So I am finally a Graduate! Yay! Graduation was perfect. We just went out with some family to a local restraunt and it was a lot of fun. Four days later we left for Utah and had a blast with Heath's family. I even hiked a mountain! A mountain! Just saying it twice for all you unbelievers out there (mainly me). After we hiked a mile and a half up we went through some caves ( This was quite a feat for me considering I am claustrophobic) and then we hiked down another mile and a half. Needless to say I hurt for about three days following but it felt great to do something like that! We did lots of other great things too. We visited the Bountiful Temple and did some family history work. The Temple was covered with these beautiful huge tulips and it was just a wonderful time. We also went downtown and looked around Temple Square, saw the new Joseph Smith movie at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, and ate lunch at the Lion House. We had a ton of fun! It is so surreal to be back in Texas today but we love it here, it just feels like home to us. Now that we are back into the "real world" it is job hunting time for me and school applying time for Heath. Welcome back!

What a relief!

2008-05-06T13:01:00.000-05:00

Well I finished everything for school last Thursday and I "graduate" this Friday! I put graduate in quotations because I decided not to actually attend graduation but to just go out with family and celebrate. I am so excited. No more tests. No more papers. No more projects. Just work and life with Heath. What could be better? How about a job oppurtunity!? I recently applied to two jobs (one in Denton and one in Dallas) and today I got a call back from my number one choice, the Denton one. They want to schedule an appointment with me to take their coding test. I am really excited but also very nervous. Every hospital's test is different and I didn't do so well on my last one with HCA (talk about learning experience!). This job would be perfect because we were planning on moving to Denton for Heath's schooling at UNT so then both work and school will be close by for both of us! Yay! I'll let you know more when things start happening with this oppurtunity, but PLEASE, PLEASE Help me out with your prayers! Hope everyone is doing well. We are excited to be going on vacation next week to Utah. It will be fun to see everyone and just have the time off! Life is great right now! I'll keep you posted...

Act your age!

2008-04-24T10:53:00.000-05:00

Boo. I am so tired of this thankless job. I try and work my hardest and it always seems like there are people who honestly SEARCH to try and find something I did wrong with the report I sent them and then are almost disappointed when there isn't anything. I do the report and then they go and ask Amy questions WHILE I AM SITTING RIGHT NEXT TO HER, like I am invisible and pretty much tear down my thought process and it is insulting and demeaning. This is the best job I have had. I have lasted nearly a year without blowing up at someone and right now I am about ready to blow up and walk out. These women are ridicalous. They are 40+ and act like three year olds. I just have never experienced grown women like this and it is almost depressing how poorly they act. Okay, now that I've been able to vent.... Only two more weeks until graduation and I am so excited. Excited to be done with studying and classes and definately clinicals! I am still searching for another job (one in coding) and hoping for the best! Hope you guys are having a better day than me!

A Vacation and a Graduation-What a Celebration!

2008-04-17T11:16:00.000-05:00

So we have finally decided on a place to go for "vacation". It isn't Albania. It isn't a cruise. We compromised and are going where we both like going.....West Jordan, Utah! We are going to go visit Heath's family for a little over a week, May 13- May 21. I am just glad we are going anywhere and it will be fun to visit Mom and Dad Breinholt again! We bought our plane tickets today and are very excited about it all. We are going to check out BYU and housing in case Heath gets in for Spring and do lots of other fun things too! It's kind of crazy considering we were just there for Christmas (although that seems ages ago) and because they will actually be coming down here at the beginning on June for Mallory's baby blessing. It will still be fun though! So yay for finally making plans and doing something about them. Although it is not completely finalized yet, but pretty much a sure thing, I will be graduating May 9th with my Associate's Degree in Health Information Technology. I have been fighting feelings lately of my degree not being fufilling enough for me (I honestly wanted a Bachelor's degree in Microbiology) but I know that this was the best path for my family and me and it will be well utilized and open up a lot of good job oppurtunities (when we need them). I guess I just see all these people younger than me getting Bachelor's and it kind of depresses me, but I am happy with this degree and for graduating (because I am sure there were a lot of people that didn't think I ever would :) ) I decided to not go to my graduation because seriously with the number of graduations I have attended under my belt I am just pooped out of any desire to attend another one (including mine!). So we are just going out with my parents to celebrate at a nice restraunt. Well that's the news with us. Hope everyone is having a great week. We love you.

She's Here! Miss Mallory Claire!

2008-04-10T09:33:00.000-05:00

Yesterday my sister-in-law had her second little baby girl and she is just as adorable as can be! Her name is Mallory Claire Breinholt and she weighed in at 7 pounds, 9 ounces. I got the priviledge of spending the day at the hospital with them and holding little Mallory. What a treat! Sydney was such a great big sister and sat with mom and held her too. She just loves the new addition and so do we! Heath got to stop by after work and hold her and he did such a good job and I think Mallory loves him! Of course he looks just like Ben so she probably thinks he is her daddy! haha. So it was an amazing day and I am just so proud of my two neices down here and my three nephews and one neice up in Utah! They are all so cute!

After we visited the hospital we were off to go to the Rangers game with Joey, Kira, Spencer, and Davy. Our Ward does this every year where you can get really cheap tickets to a Texas Rangers baseball game. So we headed up there at 5 thinking the traffic was going to be bad (it wasn't). So we were an hour early. I forgot a hair thing and it rained like crazy and my hair was all over the place and then they delayed the game and then after waiting an hour they told us the game was cancelled. Boo! So we got replacement tickets for a game in June and we are going to try it again. Better luck next time!

Still looking for a job I guess....

2008-04-03T09:29:00.000-05:00

Well I never heard anything from that job I applied for. I am too busy to really worry about it but it has been at the back of my mind lately. It just really would have been perfect. School is going well. I finally feel like I am able to breath, but only long enough before I have to start my next project or study for my next final. I have just one presentation and two tests left in my HIT courses. My Access (Database) class started right before Spring Break but it is pretty easy. I do a project then take a test afterwards each week. Not too bad.

Well Heath and I have given up on the whole vacation idea completely. I am pretty bummed beacuse it would have been really nice to go somewhere together and enjoy some time off. It was just too expensive to go to Albania and Heath won't go anywhere else. I have been trying to convince him to go on a cruise but it is a no-go. Honestly I am so worn out by everything this semester that I don't even care to fight for it. Maybe when we are 50 and our kids are grown we will be able to go on a trip....haha. That is pretty much life right now. Heath is busy with school and work and doing fun things like going to "band practice". Our friend Joey has this band and Heath goes with him to practice and sings for them. It is pretty cool and Heath LOVES it. I am busy with bowling and trying to catch up on sleep! Hope all of you are doing well! Have a good weekend!

One Month!

2008-03-23T20:43:00.001-05:00

Okay, I am totally stressing here. I have one month left of school! One month! I can't even begin to tell you how much stuff I need to get done and study in that one month! In fact, I think I am having an anxiety attack right now thinking about it. I just need to make it through this semester and BE DONE!
Okay so now that I've vented......I got a call back from that job I applied to. I had a phone interview on Friday morning and did a coding test for them this weekend (they do phone interviews because everyone is based from home so that is how they will communicate with you once you get the job). Now it's just waiting and wishing! I wouldn't be suprised if I didn't get it ( I am a little rusty on my coding skills ) but it was a great learning experience no matter what. I should hear something this week. So pray for us because it reeally would be the best job for us and I really want it but I am not getting my hopes high!

Hope everyone had a great Easter weekend. My brother came into town and I got to spend some time with him so that was great. I haven't seem him since he moved to Bastrop (near Austin) in Jan.. Have a great week! Wish me luck!

Still waiting...

2008-03-15T11:47:00.000-05:00

Well I haven't heard anything about the job I applied for. I am hoping that is just because they received my application close to the weekend. Last night we had some friends over and played games. It was alot of fun. It's a bit odd inviting your friends over to "play" at your parent's house, but they are pretty laid back about it all, so that makes it nice. I'm really excited because I have next week off. Off from school and and off from work(It is our Spring Break!). It will be a nice, much needed break from the craziness that is life right now. I only wish that Heath could have gotten off also because he is working hard too, but he still has to go to work. I know he knows this, but I am so grateful for him and his diligence in working hard for us. He is such a hard worker and is working in a field right now that he has no desire for, just to help us out. So thanks poopydoodles :)! You're the best!

Blessings, Blessings, and MORE Blessings!

2008-03-13T13:18:00.000-05:00

Well things are going pretty great here. There is this opening at HCA (where Ben and Heath work) for an at-home coding position and I am applying for it. I REALLY, REALLY hope I get it because it is the perfect job for us. I would get to stay home and work AND make more money than I make now. That is just amazing! This is exactly why I went into this field. So I can stay at home but still make some extra money if we need it. The Lord has really blessed us with good timing in our marriage and I am grateful for that. I know without the Gospel we would be lost and I am just so thankful to be watched over and to have a Heavenly Father that knows my family's needs. Prayer works! Heath and I are still planning on going to Albania. We're really excited about that, but as usual, slow to plan things. I think it's the fact of giving up some of our hard earned money that is difficult for me. Hopefully everything will work out and I will get that job and graduate school and we'll have a safe trip to Albania....here's to hoping! Hope you guys are having as great a week as we are! Love you!

To Albania or Bust!

2008-03-08T10:00:00.001-06:00

Yep, you read it right! It says Albania. Heath and I have decided to take a little vacation in between his semesters of school to Albania. Why you ask? Good question! To most, it seems like quite the strange place to go on vacation to, but to my husband it is like his second home! He served a church mission there for two years and fell in love with all things Albanian! He came back from Albania in 2005 and has been missing it ever since and begging me to go with him ever since we've been married. So alas, I have given in and since this is probably the best time in our lives to go (no kids yet, money saved up, and we have the time!) we are going! I mean this is for real, I got my passport and everything, and we are extremely excited to go. But it is not all exciting....because I am claustrophobic! Yikes! I can barely stand the flight from DFW to SLC to visit Heath's family. I usually do okay for a while and then I realize I am in the air in a tiny capsule called an airplane with no way of going outside and breathing fresh air and then I silently loose it! I say silently because I am too self conscious to actually be histirical on a plane, but my heart does beat faster and I do get that sick feeling in my stomach of doom! So yah I think I am going to have to get over that little obstacle considering I will be on a plane for over 20 hours! What was I thinking agreeing to this?! hehe. I am actually really excited. I've never been out of the country before and I am really interested in seeing where Heath served and meeting some of the people he taught and made friends with. What a wonderful oppurtunity! So that is the big news in our lives right now. Now what else is going on....
I have been trying to eat/drink healthier so I have given up all sodas. I get way to much sugar from them and they really bog me down so it is my first step to being healthy! I haven't drank one soda in 9 days now! That is really good for me! I mostly drink water, milk, and juices and my absolute favorite is the Strawberry Lemonade at On The Border! Juices still have a lot of sugar, but they are better than sodas in a lot of ways! I have also been eating better. So hopefully this kick will help me exercise and do other things to keep my body healthy. I've just noticed some changes in my body and I want to nip them in the butt before they get bad.
A funny story to go along with that.....At bowling on Monday, I think I was on Day 4 or something on my "no soda" rule and I was HATING it! I have to work before bowling and so usually I am pretty excited about bowling, but tired from work. So what do I do....go and get a giant Dr. Pepper to help me get some "energy". Well this week I got a giant water! It just wasn't the same. I bowled a 101 which is horrible!! But I didn't give in and get my favorite drink, DP. It is hard to make changes in your life......especially if there are temptations around every corner.....free soda with my meals at work, seeing other people order your favorite soda at the table next to you, and living with parents who stock about a million cans of the stuff in their garage fridge......ahh the misery. But man do I feel better now that I've stopped!
Other news..
I am starting to apply for some coding jobs at some local hopsitals. There are a couple openings where Ben and Heath work but because I am family it might be hard for me to get one there and then there is one opening at a large hospital (Harris) in downtown Ft. Worth. I like "working" where I "work" now but I am considered a Temp and don't get any of the benefits of a a real hospital employee (that's why I put work in quotations). It can be frustrating sometimes and plus I went to school to code so I really want a job doing that. So hopefully one of those will work out.
I guess I'll add a little tid bit about the huge amount (disclaimer*for Texas) of snow that we got on Thursday! It was amazing....except for the part when I had to drive in it and it took me an hour and a half to get home (It took Heath 3!). Silly Texas drivers! Ally (our dog) had lots of fun prancing around in it and was really confused when a falling snowflake would hit her. hehe it was cute! All I can say is snow in Texas = no school and no work! So hooray! Heath enjoyed his night off from school on Thurs. and I enjoyed mine on Friday!
Hope you guys are having a Merry March like us! Love you!

Warning: This Blog is Boring!

2008-03-01T10:11:00.000-06:00

I cannot think of anything interesting to talk about this week.....Honestly all we do is go to school, work, and sleep. I think someone else said on their blog that they needed to have a baby or a pet to have something to talk about. Well I have a pet Schnauzer named Ally and I've figured out she's as boring as us! She pretty much lays around all day and sleeps. We did have a fun night with our friends Joey and Kira Perkins. We played some Wii and ate at Babe's Chicken (yummy, I know all you people living outside Texas are jealous about that :) Monday is Bowling League night for me. Yep, I'm a bowling nerd and I LOVE IT! I used to bowl leagues with my brother when I was younger but stopped when I got in high school and college because I didn't have time. Well my brother was on this Christian League in Watauga and one fo his friends on the team was moving out of state so they needed someone to take her place, so I did. Then he got a new job and had to move back to the Austin area so we had to find another player, and now Joey is on our team. The other two players are Matt's friends Davy and Spencer (they're brothers) and we all have tons of fun. Heath and Kira (Joey's wife) usually come and support us and it's nice to have something like that to do to take my mind off of everything else I am doing right now. Last week I told my team I had a feeling I wasn't going to do very well and Joey, trying to motivate me, said "You're going to bowl your highest game tonight!" and I DID! I bowled a 170 which is pretty good for these punny arms. So this Monday is Bowling Night and I am excited! Well hopefully I will have more to talk about soon! Love you all!

Texas Forever

2008-02-23T12:27:00.000-06:00

Well Ben and Mer can release that sigh of relief. WE WILL BE STAYING IN TEXAS...for now. We looked up Heath's application today and he had been denied for the Fall. It said he was good candidate but it was a no go. I wasn't too suprised considering we sort of did it on a whim and turned the application in like a month before it was due. I wasn' t too disappointed considering I get to stay by family that much longer, but now I feel like we still don't know what we are doing...again! Arggh. That is just a frustrating place to be. I feel like now we know what we want to do but don't have the tools to get it done. Hopefully we will figure it all out and things will fall into place. Yay for more months of fun with Sydney and cuddling with baby Mallory!! Can't wait!

I am tired!

2008-02-21T07:44:00.000-06:00

So I guess I wont be writing that baptism day post. It would be wayyyy too long because there is just so much to write about! I'll just keep my simple one before this and add on this: When I look back to my life before the church it is very strange to me. I feel like I was a completely different person back then, and I was! Now it feels as though I've always been a member and that is a great feeling. I guess the biggest thing that has changed for me during the past seven years has been my thoughts on family. I don't think I ever loved or appreciated my family the way I do now. I am very thankful that I had such wonderful parents who raised me with such great standards and that taught me right and wrong. I think I would have made a lot more mistakes in this life if it wasn't for their teachings. So Happy Belated Baptism Day to me!

On to other news. I think this semester's schedule is finally catching up to me. I am just so tired. I feel disoriented because each day is so different and I have to remember which day is work, which day is clinical, and which day is school! I just can't wait until this semester is over! Also, we should be finding out about BYU soon. That's exciting! Although I got to spend Tuesday with Sydney and Mer and let me tell you that girl is good at convincing me to stay here in Texas just by giving me a bejo (a kiss). I'm going to miss them so much and my family too! But hey, when the spirit speaks, it speaks! That's pretty much it for the news. Hope you have a great day!

7 years!

2008-02-14T09:47:00.000-06:00

Monday was my seven year mark since joining The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and I still cannot put together a post to encompass all of that. I am working on it but will just say that I love being a member of the Church and can't wait for another seven years to pass. My life has been so blessed since being baptized and I am grateful for that. More to come later...

Ode to the Blog

2008-02-09T13:09:00.000-06:00

Blogs are an amazing thing. They allow us to see further into one another more than normal. I'm what some would call a "Blog Stalker". I creep around, read posts, and sneak away unnoticed. I've been thinking today about the fact that we don't really know the people around us. We may think we have them all figured out, but we don't. I guess I am reflective on this today because there are some people in my life who seem easy to categorize, to stereotype, or to place blame on. But really I don't know what is going on with them, what they are going through, what they've been through. So I guess I am thankful for blogs and the oppurtunity they give to us to see a little deeper into the lives of those around us and help us to be a little more understanding.

Busy Little Bee

2008-02-07T11:16:00.000-06:00

Lots of things are happening right now and that is fun! Last night we got to spend some time with Jill. It was a lot of fun. She is a busy, busy girl with graduate school so it was nice of her to take some of the little free time she has and spend it with us! We love her! Ron (Heath's little brother) will be going into the MTC (Missionary Training Center, for those of you not fluent in Mormon abbreviations :) ) next week! I can't believe it! We miss him already! I will miss playing Wii Sports with him the most! He is such a great kid, the little brother I never had! Good luck Ron! And then this weekend my brother is coming into town. I haven't seen him in like a month, yay! And next weekend Bandaid (Mer's sister) is coming into town from good ol' Provo! Lots of fun to come in the next couple weeks! Hope everyone is a having a great day and I love you guys!

Tough Love

2008-02-05T20:56:00.000-06:00

Sometimes I feel like I have to be 100% fake, nice/upbeat all the time, and honestly, that just ain't me! I'm kind of a tell it like it is person. I guess I am just a little annoyed that some people constantly complain and let their downfalls/trials define who they are. That's just not fair to them and surely not fair to those who love them. I don't think people realize how much other people would probably like to be like them or have their life and sometimes they take for granted all the blessings they do have. Like an eternal family, a house to live in, an income....and much more. If there is anything I have learned in the past 7 years since joining the church it has been realizing how blessed I am. I am not saying I am perfect. I am not saying I don't complain. I'm just saying that most of us have it pretty good (I know I do!) and instead of letting shortcomings, or illnesses, or trials define us and hold us back....lets thrive on the many blessings that we have in our lives. I've been that person that fell away from the church to find myself and honestly all I did was realize how much the church meant to me....and the road back was long and hard and not at all fun...pretty painful in fact. I am not a very fun person, in fact I can be a pretty depressing person sometimes, but I don't let depression define me. I have, however , let the Gospel help me find peace with my depression. So what is the point of this long, rambling, probably a little rude or angry tirade......I'm not sure, but I am sure it has everything to do with this lesson. The Gospel is perfect, the people are not. You cannot rely on the people of the church to keep your testimony burning, you have to do something about it. I am guilty of this too. You cannot lean on the crutch that is someone elses testimony. Find your own. It's hard but so worth it.

President Hinckley

2008-01-30T09:09:00.000-06:00

I tried to write a post about three times on Monday about President Hinckley passing away. I think I figured out that I cannot express in words what President Hinckley meant to me or how I feel. As a young convert to the church he was like a distant grandfather to me and I hung on to each word that he said and wanted to do good in his eyes. I knew then and know now that he was a man of God, that he was ordained by God to lead us. He spent his life serving others and what a great example that is to all of us! I am truly thankful for a prophet on this earth and grateful to have known such a wonderful man in my lifetime.

I was just thinking yesterday about how lucky I am and how blessed I am to have such a wonderful husband who wants the same things as me and how much the Gospel has blessed our lives. I wish these were the things they reported on the news about LDS people. How happy we are. How blessed we are.

Little Life Update

2008-01-26T09:32:00.000-06:00

Well last night was Sydney's birthday party. It was a lot of fun and reminded how much I miss Ben, Mer, and Syd. In other news Heath has officially sent in all of his application to BYU but I am a little worried some it won't make it in time for the deadline. I guess there is always Winter semester! So that's pretty much life right now.....school, work, and applying to school. So in May we will either end up in Utah or staying in Texas. That's it for now-nothing too exciting going on I guess.

Following the crowd...

2008-01-21T11:47:00.000-06:00

I am an official member of blog-a-mania! I have been for a little bit now but I really just had one so I could comment on other people's blogs (Bandaid and Mer!) . I suppose I will start posting now but I promise mine won't be as witty nor charming as the many other blogs out there. I am just a simpleton in this creative writing boom. Hopefully it'll bring a few laughs to your life though. I officially dedicate my blog to Sydney, Auntie, and Mer! Love you guys!