The Latest

Since Marlow's arrival, my struggle with depression has really gotten better. I think it's simply God's blessing in giving me company, something that is happy and wagging its tail when I walk through the door. I'm not saying that Chris doesn't give me happiness. He definitely does and I adore him, but it's not having close friends yet that makes me lonely. Marlow gets me outside more, which is a good reminder that God is bigger than me. Walking Marlow is fun and a healthy activity and restful for my soul. I had gotten into the pattern of just working a lot, going to school a lot, and staying inside when I was home. It really is beautiful the world that we live in.

Tonight we are eating dinner and watching a Purdue game with our friends, Casey and Megan. Marlow is coming, too, and he'll get to meet their dog, Jackson. Last night we went out to eat at Freddie's, a local dog-friendly restaurant. Marlow was very nervous and freaked out a bit at first, but after the wait for our table, he warmed up and nestled under our table. Lots of people came up to touch him and talk to us about him, which I'm not sure helped his nerves. But he did get to try broccoli and cucumber.

The women in our community group have started a Book Club. Individually, several of us talked about how we couldn' t find one to join on the south side of Austin, so we just decided to begin our own. We plan on meeting monthly to talk and discuss each selection. This month it will be at my house. Chris is leaving again for Singapore for a month, so any social activity while he is gone is good for me. I'm looking forward to having people over. This month we are reading, "Cry, the Beloved Country," by Alan Paton.

Congratulations to my wonderful friend, Michelle Jones and her fiancé, Ryan. They got engaged yesterday in Central Park, NYC! They were there for their Spring Break and he popped the question while taking a picture of themselves on a bridge, so he got real-time pictures of it, too. Yay, I'm so happy for them!

Another book I've been reading is "Captivating," by John and Staci Eldredge. It is basically the woman's version of "Wild At Heart." It started getting good in the middle of the book. Usually, I don't get into too many Christian inspriation books. I think it's because I can't really get past the whole cheese factor of them, especially when written by a woman and for women, they sometimes make me want to gag. But I think that some of those books have good points to them, so I'm trying to get back into reading more Christian literature.

Did I mention that we went to the G-Love concert last week? I don't think I did. They were at Stubb's BBQ downtown, same place we saw Nickelcreek when we first moved here. G-Love and the Special Sauce was good. I like their music.