Weekend Update

I know I fell behind on my daily posts, but I was in Austin this weekend spending time with some of my favorite girls!

It was a quick trip, but we managed to squeeze in a little shopping, several yummy restaurants, an afternoon of manicures and pedicures, and heartfelt good-for-the-soul conversation. And...we made a promise to make this happen a lot more often. I'm holding us to it, girls!

Happy Tuesday, everyone!

Looking Back {on 2012} Part I

For me 2012 was a year of personal growth. As the year began I found myself searching for meaning and purpose in my life. It was a year of challenges, but those challenges eventually turned into triumphs, and as the year came to a close I felt at peace. I had learned to seek happiness for myself, instead of waiting for it to find me. 

January

We celebrated the new year in Texarkana for Britt and Dustin's wedding weekend. It was such a memorable weekend and a wonderful start to 2012. 

At some point in January it became a reality that Brandon actually had to leave for three months, starting at the end of March. I began worrying about what this meant for me. I didn't have anything holding me back in Corpus, but I started to wonder if having a job would make the coming months easier. I looked into possibilities outside of child life, and I considered going into teaching. After weighing all my options I decided against it. I didn't want to jump into something just because I was scared of the challenge ahead. 

February 

I spent the month of February taking advantage of my time with Brandon, since I knew he would be leaving in a matter of weeks. Although we squeezed in as many date nights and fun outings as we could, it still felt like there was cloud of sadness hanging over us. Even though we tried not to think about it, we knew that we were quickly approaching the biggest challenge we had ever faced as a married couple. 

Towards the end of the month I made my first Austin trip of 2012. Shell and I experienced the Campus Candy Store for the first time and attended a Texas Country benefit concert that was close to my heart.

March

I realized I had spent so much time trying to figure out the next step in God's plan that I hadn't even noticed His presence in the present moment. I began to see Him working in my life in ways that I hadn't even considered. I learned to accept the stage I was in, and life seemed fun again. 

We spent a weekend in Yoakum before Brandon started his rig training, and at the end of the month we began our Dallas adventures. 

April

I did a lot of traveling in April. I was either in Yoakum with my parents, in Austin with Michelle, or in Dallas with Brandon. I had a lot of time to myself, which I spent running, reading, and just thinking about life. 

We also celebrated my PaPaw's 90th birthday, and we felt so blessed to have him in our lives. 

April was also the beginning of Courtney and Kyle's wedding festivities. My maid of honor duties included a day in College Station for Courtney's bridal portraits, a day I will never forget.

Stay tuned for parts two and three...

Color Me Rad: So much fun, words cannot describe it!

Life Updates

I know, I know. I'm slacking in the blog department. Honestly, I have several posts in my head...posts about marriage, faith, a Saturday night at the camp house...I just need time to sit and write. I hope these quick updates will hold you over until then.

First I want to say THANK YOU  to my sweet blog friend, Tiffany, who sent me a little something to congratulate me on my new job. Opening and reading her sweet card put a huge smile on my face! Thanks, Tiff!

So, life updates...

- Life is good. Brandon is continuing to work hard at his job, and we are finally starting to somewhat get used to his schedule. I shouldn't even use the word 'schedule'. He's here for a few days, then he's gone for a few days. He's in Dallas for a few months and then Oklahoma for a few weeks. There's really no rhyme or reason to it. I've just learned to go with the flow. When I tell people about his job, and how often he is gone they say "I don't know how you do it." Well, I don't either. I think the only thing that helps is knowing that it's not going to be like this forever. It's only temporary. That's what I keep reminding myself.

- As far as my job goes, I'm still getting used to it. The schedule, itself, is an adjustment. I'm working Sunday through Thursday, 3:00pm to 11:30. It's not the best, but it's not the worst. I'm starting to get used to sleeping later, which was actually hard for me at first, and waking up at 8:00am and not going back to sleep 'till 2:00am can make you {or at least me} crazy.

I'm also adjusting to working at another facility, a facility that does things a lot differently than what I'm used to. I'm not going to go into a lot of detail, but I will say that I have moments, days even, when I feel very frustrated. That's when it's helpful to come back to my office and read this:

It's something my mom gave me when I was in high school, and I've carried it with me through every stage of life since then. Mom, I bet you didn't even know I still had it! It is a great reminder, and something I will be reading often.

- I'm headed to Austin this weekend to run in the Color Me Rad 5k with my sister. I've heard it's one of the funnest {is 'funnest' a word?} races, and I can't wait to show you pictures!

- I finally stepped out of the stone age and into the world of Instagram. I only follow a few people {four, to be exact} but I love it! If you have Instagram, find me! {@emrenken} And if you don't have Instagram, get it. Then you can take super fun pics of what you eat when there's no groceries in your house, like me!

{#starving #unhealthychoices}

- One good thing about my work schedule: Today's my Friday! Haha, hope you all have fun at work tomorrow! Don't worry, you can rub it in my face on Sunday when you're all at home relaxing. Seriously, have a great weekend! And thanks for reading, friends!

6 Things I learned during TX/OU weekend

1. Old men from OU are mean.

We were sitting at the hotel bar on Friday night waiting to meet one of Brandon's friends from work. There were just a handful of people down there, but one group in particular stood out. It was a table of eight or so men decked out in their OU attire. They appeared to be in their mid to late sixties.

As I was walking back from the restroom one of them shouted, "Hey, come over here! What does the back of your shirt say?" {I was wearing a Longhorn shirt that one of my friends gave me when I graduated. It was from the PINK line at Victoria's Secret, and the back read "PINK Loves Longhorn Alumni". It's a really cute shirt.}

I {being the sweet and innocent person that I am} walked over and let them read the back of my shirt. I thought to myself, 'Aww, these sweet old men are still coming back for the rivalry!'

Wrong. About the 'sweet' part. The trash talkin' began.

Old man: "There's no way you've already graduated!"
Me {in my sweetest voice, wanting to represent my team well}: "Yes, sir! I sure did!"
Old man: "What year did you graduate?"
Me {again, smiling and trying to be nice}: "2010!"
Old man: "Oh yeah... Well how did OU treat you when you were there?"
Me: "We actually did really well against OU when I was in school."
Old men: "Oh, yeah right! Haha! That's a lie!"
Me: "Well, we did go to the national championship. That's what I remember!"
Old men: "Oh yea! And how'd that turn out for you???"
Me: "Yeah, that was a tough game. Colt got hurt, and..."
Old men: Laughing.

2. I'm way too nice to stand up to them.


When I realized that this group of OU fans had no interest in having a nice conversation with me I decided to walk away.

Me: "Well I was going to be nice to ya'll, but since you're being mean I'm going to leave."

Good one, Emily. Nice comeback. For a kindergartner.

I walked back to my group saying my real comebacks in my head...'How can you say that's a lie?? I'm pretty sure you're so old you can't even remember how we did against OU!'... 'At least we went to the national championship!'...'How'd that season turn out for yOU??'

As I walked away one of the men shouted, "Hey, you can't wear that shirt! You haven't graduated!"

Seriously??? Did we not just discuss this??

3. Piano bars are my favorite.

I kind of already knew this, but Friday night just proved me right. After visiting with Brandon's work friend we headed to Pete's Dueling Piano Bar. We walked in, ordered drinks, and got escorted right to the front row. Score!

Sitting in the front really made the night. We were right in the middle of everything; the battle of the Texas and OU fight songs, the men vs. ladies competitions, singing on the stage. Multiple times.

This night definitely made my list of funnest nights ever.

One of my favorite moments was during one of the table vs. table competitions. The pianist asked one member from each table to go up on stage. {Amber was our representative.} The people on stage had to learn a set of hand motions to a song. As the pianist played the song, the people on stage tried to teach the hand motions to the people at their respective tables. The table with the best performance won.

Since hand motions weren't really Brandon's cup of tea, Michelle and I competed for our table. We were standing up {at the front of the bar, remember?} putting all of our energy and effort into learning these motions. We were taking this competition very seriously. The song was played over and over, and each time it got faster. Each time it played our motions got bigger and bigger. We were really getting into it!

Right when we started to get the hang of this little dance the pianist announced, "Extra points will be given for skin!" Skin. As in showing skin that is usually covered by clothing. Except Michelle and I heard skiing. Like snow skiing.

We simultaneously looked at each other and said, "Skiing!" And we immediately started pumping our arms back and forth as if we were maneuvering ski poles. I was thinking, 'Oh yeah, we got this. No one else is pumping their arms as fast as we are!'

That's because no one else was even pumping their arms. They were all glancing around the room to see if anyone was brave enough {or intoxicated enough} to show skin.

And Michelle and I were at the front of the bar skiing like crazy.


4. Some people don't know what being a fan really means. 



At the game on Saturday there were some girls sitting behind us who apparently thought they were better fans than the rest of us. They screamed at us in their highest pitched voices to yell louder, the entire game. Forget the fact that one of them yelled "Let's go offense!!" when we were on defense, twice. And nevermind that one of them missed the entire first quarter of the game.

We got to the stadium almost an hour before kick-off. We've read Orangebloods on a regular basis. We've kept up with recruiting. And coaching. And the recovery status of players on the injured list.

But if being a fan were based on the price of your handbag or how revealing your game day attire was, these girls would have won. Hands down.

5. When you go back to watch your alma mater's football team, things may not be exactly the same as you remembered.

Like I told those mean OU men, when I was at Texas the football team did really well. I have fond memories of watching the 'McCoy-Shipley' duo play and seeing Will Muschamp get our defense fired up on the sidelines. Oh, the memories.

Now I've watched almost every game since I graduated, and I know that our team has struggled since that year. Please don't rub it in. But for some reason I was still expecting to see Colt-and-Jordan-like-plays on the field. I mean, that's how it was last time I was at the Cotton Bowl? Boy, did I miss those two.

If you pay any attention to college football at all you know that the TX/OU game was a complete nightmare. For Texas. I don't even know what to say. Except that I've never attended a game like that, one where Texas played so poorly. It was disappointing. That's all I'm going to say.

6. State Fair cotton candy is the best cotton candy EVER.

Michelle and I have always loved cotton candy. We've eaten cotton candy everything; ice cream, fro-yo, lollipops, the-cotton-candy-they-used-to-sell-at-Movie-Gallery-in-Yoakum-that-isn't-even-very-good-but-we-ate-it-anyway-because-it-was-still-cotton-candy. You could say that we are cotton candy freaks! 

We had been looking forward to this cotton candy all weekend, and after the game we headed straight to the giant cotton candy stand we had spotted earlier in the day. It was a long walk through a giant crowd of people {we could hardly even move}, and as we shoved and elbowed our way towards the stand Brandon said, "This better be some good cotton candy..."



{Oh, yeah. We each got our own bag. BTW- We were tired from lack of sleep and standing for four hours,
and the humidity was awful so our hair looks kind of gross. But the cotton candy was good!}

Oh, it was! It was amazing. I wish I could have bought enough to last me until State Fair next year.



And because I have no where else to put this picture...

{Breakfast at the fair: corndog, margarita, fried s'more}



Although we came home with a loss, this was definitely one of my favorite weekends. And I'd say I learned some pretty valuable lessons!

10 Week YOU Challenge: Week 5

Happy Tuesday!

via

Six Places

Each of these places has played a big part in my life,
but the people and experiences that I encountered in each place
are what make each one special.
  

Austin
My all-time favorite place to live.
The first place we lived when we got married.

Yoakum
Our hometown.

Georgia
Home of my Aunt Betty and Uncle Robert.
My all-time favorite summer vacation spot.

The Forty Acres
Read more here.

Red Rock / Rockne
Home of my grandparents,
and the place that holds my favorite childhood memories.

Corpus Christi
Our current city.
Although it's not my favorite place to live,
I'm sure I'll look back one day and appreciate everything this city has taught me.

Long Overdue

We spent the weekend in Austin, with our friends Eric and Jenny.
And baby Reese, Sweet baby Reese.
It was a weekend that was long overdue.

We got there Friday night.
Brandon and Eric sat in the back yard for a while.
They talked, over a few beers, and I could tell that this was exactly what they needed.
Time to talk, to catch up.

And visiting with Jenny,
that's exactly what I needed.

On Saturday the boys went to a softball tournament.
They played all day.
Jenny and I slept in, enjoyed lunch at Mighty Fine Burgers,
and spent the afternoon playing with Reese.

Oh, Reese.
Last time we saw you, you were a baby.
How fast you've grown!
You're a little person now, and we love you so much!
We can't wait to come play with you again.
But until then?
We will hold onto the memories of you smiling as you say 'Emmie',
and how you reach your arms out for B to hold you.

You see, a year ago this would have been a normal Saturday.
But now? This time is treasured.
Weekends like this don't come around very often.
So when they do?
We soak in every. single. minute.

First 5k coming up!

I am running my first 5k on Saturday, and I can't wait! I have been preparing for months, and I know I'm ready. I did a short run early in the week, my outfit is picked out, and I pick up my race packet tomorrow. The only thing left to do is decide which Pandora station to listen to ;) I'll let you know how it goes!

{Pre-race run earlier this week at Zilker Park in Austin.. LOVE the trails there!}

**I will be running in the Prosperity Place 5th Annual Fun Run and Family Festival in Frisco, TX. To find out more about Prosperity Place click here. 

Austin Visit

A few weeks ago (yes, I know I'm behind) I went to Austin to spend the night with Michelle. I had heard about a memorial concert for a former patient of DCMC (read her story HERE), and as I was telling Michelle to go and take all of her friends she said, "Why don't you just come and go with me??" So I went!

Yes, all of our favorites were there :)

I drove to Austin the day of the concert, and I got there just in time for lunch. After dropping my bags off at Shell's apartment we walked over the The Drag. We enjoyed catching up over some Chipotle (which reminded me so much of campus lunch dates during college), and then spent the afternoon looking around in a few of the shops on The Drag. That's when we came across this:

Campus Candy Yogurt Bar, AKA Heaven

A brand new yogurt shop! And not just any self-serve yogurt shop. This place is a yogurt shop, candy store, and Cheesecake Factory dessert bar all rolled into one! Michelle literally had to drag me away from it. But don't worry..I made her go back! Let me give you a tour...

L-R: Candy wall, Yogurt topping bar, Frozen yogurt dispensers

Our bags of candy, Cheesecake Factory Red Velvet Cheesecake
and Cheesecake Factory Vanilla Bean mini-cupcake

This was such a fun way to end our afternoon! After giving ourselves tummy-aches, we got dressed and headed to the concert. We had such a good time! Just thinking about this night makes me smile :) I got to hang out with my sister, listen to some of our favorite Texas Country artists, and I got to see several of my friends from the hospital. It was a perfect night!

Curtis!  Michelle and I swear he made eye contact with us! Ha ;)



Such a fun atmosphere... They all sat on bar stools, guitars in hand,
and took turns singing acoustically.



Loxy and I-- She's seriously one of the most amazing people I know!
I could go on and on with stories of how she made our work days fun :)

Thanks for telling me to come!!

** I had the opportunity to witness Amberlynn's generosity first-hand on Christmas Eve 2010. I cannot explain in words the impact she had on patients and families who had to spend Christmas in the hospital. I will never forget that experience.

Trying to Live in the "Here and Now"

The past few weeks have been tough. First of all, Brandon was in Oklahoma for two weeks. This was the first time he has been gone for more than a few days, and I was not looking forward to it. Thankfully I have some amazing people in my life who kept me busy. Michelle, her friend Alayna, and Alayna's sweet baby Noah came to visit during the first week. We did some Christmas shopping and had fun playing with Noah. He is such a sweet baby! This was Princess's first time to meet a baby, so it was fun to watch her reactions.

I went back to Yoakum with Michelle and Alayna, and spent the next week there. During that time I got to do more shopping in Austin with my mom and Michelle, and I finally got to see the cute bridal boutique where Michelle works. If you're shopping for a wedding dress, you should definitely look them up!!

This brings me to the tough part...being in Austin. I've only been to Austin a few times since we moved, and I can usually make the trip without becoming emotional/sentimental. Until I see the tower of Dell Children's. That's when I start reminiscing and thinking about all of the amazing people I encountered during my time there. I think about how hard I worked to go from a college volunteer, to a gift shop employee, then a practicum student and intern, and finally a child life specialist. I did so much learning and growing in that one place, and I still miss it like crazy.

Driving by Dell Children's reminded me how much I love being a child life specialist. I could go on and on about what we do and why I love doing it, but I won't. I just hope that I get to do it again someday. I've sent my resume to the children's hospital here in Corpus, but there are no positions available right now. So I'm playing the waiting game. And I don't like it.

I was talking with Brandon a few days ago about how much I miss my job. I told him that working as a child life specialist was what I was "supposed" to do. He said, "Who said that's what you're 'supposed' to do?" I said, "Well I did." He then reminded me that WE do not decide what we are supposed to do.

Once again, I was trying to take control of my life. And after realizing that, I am doing my best to live in the moment and enjoy where I am in life.

I found a book a few days ago that has been extremely helpful. And as I opened it to start reading I noticed that it came from my Aunt Verna. I'm assuming she gave it to my dad, who then gave it to me, and I was probably too busy at the time to read it.

The book is about living life in the present and taking time to notice God working in our lives each day. As I read it last night, I came across a quote that really stuck with me. This particular chapter was about the Spirit of God working in our lives. It said,

"Don't be afraid to let go of your need to control your own life. Let me fulfill the true desire of your heart."

Wow! That's exactly what I needed to hear. So thanks, B, for loving me and being patient with me. And thanks to Dad and Aunt Verna for placing this book in my life. I think I read it at just the right time :)

Inspired by a song

Hello! And welcome to my new blog! I've been contemplating starting a blog recently, and finally decided to go for it. I love to write, and I thought this would be a good way to stay connected with all of you while I'm continuing this new chapter of life by the Corpus Christi Bay.

"This is the Life for Me" was inspired by a song that really explains where I am and what's taken place over the last several months. I was in the car with my mom, listening to her new Francesca Battistelli CD, and "I'm Letting Go" came on. I really felt that this song captured exactly what I had been experiencing. After researching the song a bit, I found that Francesca wrote it after moving to Nashville and leaving everything she knew and loved behind. Let me explain the similiarities...

The year 2010 was quite a whirlwind, and by the end of it I had an amazing husband, loved my job, and loved living in Austin with my little sister and my Pa-Paw right down the road. When 2011 came around I was ready to slow down and enjoy where I was in life. If you asked me in January, I would have said we'd be in Austin for at least five years.

I was wrong. In June I found myself packing up our first apartment and shopping for houses in Corpus, a city that I knew nothing about that is two hours away from anyone I know. I think it's funny how right when I think I have a plan for my life, God steps in and gently reminds me that He is is control, not me. And I'm so glad he is!

Life in Corpus has been great! Brandon has been working really hard at his new job, and I couldn't be happier for him. Seeing him excited about his work and career is such a good feeling! I have enjoyed setting up our new home, and helping Princess (our miniature dotson) get adjusted to her new life also. We are all so happy, and after two months I've decided that "This is the Life for Me."

Brandon and I at the Corpus Christi Bay on our first night here.
I still can't believe we live so close to the water!