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...

Hey, everyone! Yesterday was B's birthday!

I remember back when I started blogging Brandon said he had one request: He never wanted a blog post dedicated only to him. When he said this I asked, "So you never want a birthday post?" Nope. No birthday posts.

So, yesterday I thought I did a pretty good job of recognizing the day of the year, without specifically mentioning his birthday. I wanted him to know I was thinking of him, without completely embarrassing him. I chose tasteful photos, not that we ever take photos that aren't tasteful, but I chose photos in which we both looked our best. I wrote a sweet message, without being too mushy, and I just knew I had acknowledged his birthday in the perfect way.

Last night we both got home from work late {I'm talking midnight late}, and soon after he opened his gift we went to sleep. This morning Brandon looked at me and said, "What was up with that blog yesterday? How were people supposed to know it was my birthday??" I explained my reasoning behind yesterday's post, how I remembered him saying he never wanted a birthday post, and he said, "I don't remember saying that."

So...Let me try again...

~~~

Happy Birthday, B!!







Happy birthday to the person who's seen me at my best and my worst, and chooses to love me anyway.

Happy birthday to the person who can make me laugh when all I want to do is cry.

Happy birthday to the person who eats everything I cook, no matter how burnt it is.

Happy birthday to my best friend, my husband, my partner in life.

I love you so much, B!

I hope you enjoy eating your MCC!!

{Blue Bell Mint Chocolate Chip, his favorite}

Happy November 27th!

Here's to sharing many more years of laughter and memories!

Birthday Weekend: Take 2

Since Michelle wasn't able to come down for my birthday last weekend she came and spent the day with me today. It meant so much, because I knew how tired she must have been after working the entire weekend at Camp Aranzazu.

We had lunch at Chili's and then spent the afternoon catching up on the latest happenings in each of our lives. It felt so good to just sit and talk, with no one calling and beeping in and neither of us having to rush off the phone to finish dinner or make it to class on time. We ended our day with sno cones, and then Michelle headed back to Austin.

lunch / birthday gift / sno cone

Thanks so much for coming, Shell!

I enjoyed our day more than you know.

Birthday Recap

To say my 25th snuck up on me would be an understatement. I had been thinking about it for several months, and I even started a blog post back in July especially for my 25th birthday. I kept telling myself, Oh, you still have a few months to work on it.

Those months have now come and gone, and the blog post was never finished. I've decided to blame it on the fact that I'm still wearing my summer clothes. It still doesn't feel like fall down here, and as badly as I want to be wearing my favorite scarves and boots I'm forced to slip a pair of sandals on every time I leave the house; therefore, it hasn't felt like my birthday.

Anyway...

This weekend turned out even better than I had hoped! Brandon was supposed to be out of town for work, which I was really disappointed about, but his schedule ended up changing at the last minute. Yay for crazy/uncertain/very unpredictable oil field schedules! {Probably the only time I'll ever say that..Ha!} On Friday evening he gave me my birthday gifts and we went out for dinner and ice cream. It was a very relaxing evening!

On Saturday Mom, Dad, and PaPaw came down. PaPaw had never been to our house, and I'm so glad he was able to make the trip! After resting his back for just a few minutes {riding in the car is kind of hard on him} he was ready to go see my garden.

{Look at my hair. That's how windy it is here!}

Let me tell you... He got a kick out of it! He started laughing right away. He said, "I think you need to talk to your daddy! His are taller than you!" Then he asked, "Have you watered 'em often?" I told him that I had, and he just kept saying, "I don't know what to tell you, baby. I've never seen anything like it." He said it might be the soil that caused them not to grow, and he told me not to give up. I guess I'll be trying again in the spring!

After laughing about my miniature tomato plants we went inside, and mom and I cooked lunch. We had MaMaw's pork chops, and while we were eating Brandon said, "PaPaw, is Emily a good cook?" PaPaw answered, "Yeah, she's a real good cook. You better keep her around!" Then he said, "There's just one problem... She can't grow a tomato!" We all laughed! {My PaPaw still likes to joke with us, even at ninety years old!}

After lunch we listened to the second half of the Texas football game. At one point PaPaw said, "Texas didn't play Oklahoma this year." I said, "Yes they did, PaPaw. They just just lost really bad." He said, "Oh, Texas went to Dallas... But they didn't play!" I told you he likes to joke around!

That afternoon we continued to visit and watch football. I showed PaPaw around our house, and I took my parents to see the hospital where I work. I just loved having all of them here!

That evening we said our goodbyes, and Mom, Dad, and PaPaw headed back to Yoakum. Mom texted me as they were driving away and said that PaPaw was still talking about my tomato plants. He told them, "They've got a real nice place, just no tomatoes." {Lol} We've decided he'll be talking about them for the next year! I was so thankful that he was able to come down and visit us. It was definitely a day I'll never forget.

After my family left I told Brandon that I wished every day was my birthday. I got to see my parents and my PaPaw, Brandon didn't have to work, and I got to talk to all of my friends... Exactly what I needed!

{Yes, we all wear burnt orange every Saturday.}

I can't wait to see what year twenty-six brings!

**My sister would have been here if she didn't have so much homework. We missed you, Shell!!

Belated Birthday Blog

This past Thursday I turned the big 24. Unlike my childhood birthdays, the world did not pause and allow me to be a princess for a day. I did not get to take cupcakes to school to share with my friends or have people fighting over who got to sit by me at lunch. But even though the world continued to turn, I did enjoy my 24th birthday. I happen to have some amazing people in my life who made me feel pretty special :)

Let me rewind a little and share how much birthdays mean to me. When I was little, my Ma-Maw made each of our birthdays very special. No matter what day of the week it was, she and Pa-Paw drove down from Red Rock to spend the day with us. I always looked forward to sharing that special day with her. And when I look back on my childhood birthdays, I don't think about the presents or Disney-themed parties. I think about Ma-Maw.

My Ma-Maw died when I was a freshman in high school, and birthdays haven't been the same since. For several years after she died, I didn't even want to acknowledge my birthday. That day was just another reminder that Ma-Maw was no longer here.

I don't think I enjoyed a birthday again until I turned 20. That year my best friend, Courtney, surprised me and came to Austin to celebrate with me. We all went to see Aaron Watson, and I finally remembered what it felt like to be happy on my birthday. Thanks, Court for that fun surprise! And Kayla, I think you planned the Aaron Watson thing?

My best friends Kayla and Courtney with Aaron Watson on my 20th.
Love you girls!!

Now back to my 24th... The day started with an early morning birthday call from my sweet Pa-Paw. Even though I don't get to see him, he continues to make each birthday special by being the first person to call. I don't know if it's harder for him to actually remember my birthday, or to wait until a somewhat decent hour to call! I was in Yoakum that morning, so I felt like a kid again when my parents woke me up and told me 'Happy Birthday'. Kayla took me out for a yummy birthday lunch, and then I headed back to Corpus so I could spend the evening with my hubby. Brandon took me to P.F. Chang's for dinner, which was so fun! I loved having him to myself for the entire evening!

Our yummy dessert at P.F. Chang's

All of the calls and texts that I got were so sweet, and just knowing that people were thinking about me meant so much. My family gave me some great gifts, and I have to share Michelle's. Part of her gift was a t-shirt from Maudie's (my absolute FAVORITE place to eat in Austin). When I opened it she said, "Now you can have a little bit of Maudie's with you in Corpus!" Being away from her has been tough, and now I can wear this shirt and imagine sharing a big plate of 'sausage migas con queso' just like we used to :)

Thanks, Shell!!