Not Quite a Chaco's Girl

One of Sean and I's favorite stores in Lubbock is Mountain Hideaway.  It sells camping equipment, clothes, shoes, fishing stuff etc.  Since I've been dating Sean, I have joined the Townsend's to CO many times.  We have all of our backpacks, camping gear, hiking boots (oh yes), and my favorite zip off pants thanks to Mr. T!

Well today at Mountain Hideaway they were having an Arbor Day sale that included 30-70% off so much stuff.  I would be lying if I said I didn't pick up a pair of chaco's and try them on, but I just cannot do it.  I may sometimes desire to be granola, but I just can't do the chacos.  I did however find a wonderful alternate, but you're not allowed to judge me on this.  I bought myself a pair of EXTREMELY comfortable Teva Olowahu sandals that I think are cute, if you're going for the Colorado look :)  I got them for super cheap, so it was defiantly worth it.

Thanks to my fabulous sister Jennifer I am also even more obsessed with Bethenny Frankel/Happy from Bethenny Ever After.  When they came to visit she brought me THE Skinnygirl Margarita, and it's delicious!  We had some while planning our fab New York trip, to feel very newyorkish, and then surprised me with ANOTHER bottle in our wine cooler when they left.  Jen you're the best, and I can't wait to spend a week with you and mom in NY!

  

Give Me Jesus

In the morning, when I rise

Give me Jesus

When I am alone

Give me Jesus

When I come to die

Give me Jesus

You can have all this world

Just give me Jesus

I heard this song the other day when I was cleaning and listening to pandora.  God is so good with timing isn't he? :)  These past few months have been challenging for Sean and I because of the move to Amarillo.  I had allowed myself to become stressed with finding a job, finding a place to live, and just working everything out.  This past week God taught both of us to "keep calm and carry on."  Be calm and acknowledge that God is totally in control, and carry on with your life, don't stop living it because of the future.  After some hard lessons learned that is exactly what we are going to do.  We are now recognizing that God's plan is better than our own and that his plan is exactly what we need.  


Some exciting things coming up:

• Well this already happen, but we had a fabulous time in Houston and CS.  It made us both miss family and those precious college days!

• The Pasche's and Lipman's are coming in town this weekend to celebrate Easter.  We are very excited to have the whole gang together! 

• Little Mrs. Ashley Eppers is pregnant again and I am just so excited for her!  I don't see how Baby #3 could be anymore precious than the other two, but I'm sure it will be :)  Congratulations Ashley and Sean!

• 53 more days until Sean's boards are over!  Wahoo!

• I'm not obsessed with cupcake and decor blogs....it's such a bad habit!  My new favorite is "Cupcake Project"  I'm going to make chocolate coconut rum cupcakes for easter!   I'll let you know how it goes!  I really have found that even though I make a MESS when I bake, it really is a stress reliever for me!

• 28 days until NEW YORK WITH MOM AND J!  We are so excited and if you have any of those "must sees" let us know!

• Check out how precious Miss Catherine Cotton is please...http://purecottondesigns.wordpress.com/ She is class and charm and lovely :)

• When I went up to Amarillo on Monday, I found the most perfect house inside and out....it's just a few hundy over our price range!

This house is located in the historic district of Amarillo.  It's all brick with so much character.

When you walk in this is the entry way.  It has chic white built ins all over the house, hard wood floors, old timey characteristics. 

 

Isn't this the most wonderful house you have ever seen.  I walked in and felt like I was in Pottery Barn magazine.  One day :)

Sean and I have been looking for the perfect little place for us in Amarillo since we found out we were moving there.  Even though we haven't minded living in an apartment, we would love to find either a duplex, townhome, or house that we could rent out!  After looking a about 5 apartments, an "efficiency," and craigslist every single day we have found a few we really like!


Our favorite is a duplex in Canyon which is just south of Amarillo.  (Guess what else is in Canyon, TX....West Texas A&M baby!)  So the duplex is super nice, tons of storage, and seems to be in a nice part of town.  The only downfall is that we're pretty sure there is no refrigerator! Now this is kind of a deal breaker since we don't have a ton of money to be spending on things like....fridges!  If you have a fridge that you are getting ride of by chance, we are definitely interested :)  Anyways keep that in your prayers, we really need direction on where to live!


     If you haven't heard me talk about skinnytaste.com, go check it out right now!  She has the best recipes that are easy and don't require too weird of ingredients.  Well the other day I was in a baking mood which is never good since I'm trying to eat better, BUT I saw these delicious Low Fat Chewy Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies!  

     Sean and I decided to make them since they were low fat and everything ;)  After an emergency run to Wal Mart to pick up brown sugar by my sweet, sweet husband we got busy baking.  Now you know these were a hit because even my husband like them and they were again "low fat!"  So if you get in the mood try out these delicious cookies! 

For meal planning SUNDAY we are having:


Monday- Sausage marinara with penne pasta and shaved parmesan, garlic bread, and a ceaser salad. (When mom and dad came to visit we took them out to Caprock winery and got a delicious Italian wine.  The owner said to try it with a spicy sausage marinara!  We'll see what I come up with, should be good!)


Tuesday- Cilantro Lime Chicken with Avocado Salsa and queso rice....nothing like starting up the grill on warm spring nights :)

Wednesday- White Pizza with Tomato and Basil served with a house salad

Thursday- Spicy Asian Noodles with Chicken and a snow pea salad

Friday- Hot dogs, peanuts, nachos, and ice cream since we will be in Houston watching the Astros play!  We are very excited to go to Houston and see family and friends :)

All of these recipes I got from cookinglight.com this week!

Rough Stuff, Real Stuff Texas A&M

After a long week of studying, for Sean, and application filling out, for me, Sean and I headed towards the A&M/Tech baseball game last night!  Once we told some of our "raider" friends we were going they informed us to NOT wear anything aggie or people might not be very nice.  Without wanting to start a fight with the class tech fans, we decided to go neutral to the game. 

When we showed up we were so proud to be Aggies!  Precious aggie familys, old ags, and even a few ags our age were there loud and proud wearing their maroon gear.  We QUICKLY decided we would be going to the game tonight and wearing A&M everything!  We sat behind an Aggie family of 5 that I quickly made friends with.  Ella was 3 and about the cutest thing I've ever seen, Owen was 5 and by the end of the night had invited me to his baseball game that he was sure he would hit a home run at, and Case was 1 and a bundle of joy.  Needless to say, it was a great night of baseball (even though we lost) and meeting new people.  I hope we run into them again tonight!


Even though our evening in Lubbock was fun, the most exciting news was for the new proud parents Julie and Blaine!  We can't wait to meet their new bundle of joy and hold baby Cal.  Jennifer sent us updates all night, and I could tell it was a night that God was honored and defiantly felt his grace. 

          Thank you Jesus for Baby Cal and his wonderful family.  I pray that you work in his little life, and that you are honored in everything Blaine and Julie do as a family.  Thank you for Blaine and Julie.  Give them rest and peace and assurance that you are in control of everything.  And that it is by God's grace they have this new person in their lives.  Keep Baby Cal save and healthy, and surround him with people that love him and desire the best for him  You are so good, and thank you for good things in our lives!

Chazown: Define Your Vision

I finally finished the Hunger Games trilogy books, and I absolutely loved them!  If you haven't read them you defiantly should!  They are quite addicting so beware :)

Now I'm onto the next book, one recommended by my lovely principal Mrs. Bayer!  It's called Chazown by Craig Groeschel, and really about finding and defining your vision for your life based on what Christ has planned for you!  So far I've read one chapter and it already seems challenging.

"When there is no vision for a godly family, you have a 50 perfect chance of ending up divorced.  Where there is no vision for meaningful work, people live for five o'clock.  They really just exist.  Their goal is to survive--to pay bills, stay married, keep the kids out of jail."

"When God gives you His vision, HE also gives you the ability to get it done."

Baby Fever

I am so excited for a few new mommy's to be that I've heard about!  God is so good in providing a little miracle to these wonderful ladies, and I couldn't be more excited for them!  I know each one will provide homes that display wonderful marriages and praise Christ in everything they do!

Congratulations to:

Mrs. Julie Chamberlain, who is almost at her due date!

Mrs. Natalie O'Donnell, who is due in Oct I believe!

Mrs. Emily Countryman, who is ALSO due in Oct I believe!

and the newest news.....

Mrs. Sarah-Kate Crosby, who I love dearly and I'm so excited for!

Ladies, know that you are being prayed for and I can't wait too see your little ones!

Amarillo By Morning

As many of you know, Sean and I will be moving to Amarillo within the next few months for him to finish our medical school!  While we are extremely heartbroken to leave Lubbock, we have confidence in our Creator.  We have made lasting friendships with so many people here, and feel like we have truly built a home.  While it was hard news at first, we are excited to see how God is going to use us in Amarillo!


With all that being said, PLEASE be praying that I am able to find a job up there and that we will find a place to live.  Sean and I will be driving up there this Thursday for two interviews and to meet a lady that has a guest house for rent.  We are really getting excited about the move, but still feel anxious about it all.  In relation to the medical school up there, it's going to be a great move for Sean.  Amarillo has a wonderful program that will give Sean lots of opportunities to learn more and take on more responsibility. We know that God has good for us and will take care of us.  If anybody knows or has any connections to people in Amarillo, please let us know!  We are really trying to make some connections for friends and churches!


Things we are excited about Amarillo:
- They have hills and trees...ok so it's not much but it's more than LBK
- Palo Duro Canyon is 20 miles away
- Colorado is 2 hours away
- Amarillo has a cool downtown area including Acapulcos, Crush Wine Bar, and much more!
- Saltgrass 
- Drive in movie theater 
- Snow!


I'll have to add later!

Fabulous Family Time

Last weekend Mom and Dad came to visit us in Lubbock!  It was there first time here since we moved and we were delighted to see them.  After their long "Are we there yet?" drive, we showed them the best of LBK.  They were so gracious and took us grocery shopping, to target, and out for dinner.  We promised them (and to The Townsends, who help us out so much) that we will pay them back when we get older :)  Here's a few pics from the weekend:

Mom and I at Abuelos

The most wonderful men in my life

Precious mom and dad...still in love!

Sean and I at the winery in Lbk

Townsends and Pasches at dinner for Dad's birthday