Festivus for the Rest of Us

Curtis and Catherine came to visit this weekend. We are so glad to have them as our friends. We always have such a good time together, and we never feel like we have to entertain them--they are easy guests! Saturday morning, Chris and I accidentally didn't wake up until 9am (which is really late for us), and we felt really bad because we were hosting company, but they were already up and were making breakfast for all of us! They live in Dallas, so we only get to see them every couple of months. They bought their first home around the same time as we did, so we've been sharing the journey of remodeling together.

Today we had our Fall Festival at church, so it has been a busy day. I have a couple of hours this afternoon before I head back tonight. I have finals to study for, homework, and cleaning to do...but what I'd really like is to just plop in front of the TV and veg out for the afternoon. I'm pretty tired.

Chris is training for a half marathon, so he's running this afternoon with his co-workers. He's been working a lot on the bathroom lately. In 2 weeks, his parents are coming in town to help install the shower and floor tile, so we're hoping to get to a certain point before they get here.

It's almost November and that's a good sign that the semester is coming to an end. I am declaring the year of 2007 as the year that my life will be simplified. I'd like to narrow down my two and a half jobs down to one, no school, and the least amount of responsibilities as possible. I'll be taking a break from Equipping classes at our church, babysitting, and extracurricular activities. I'd like to really focus on growing and deepening my walk with Christ. I have been just way too busy this year. I've learned my lesson.

Before & After

We got haircuts...can you see the changes? Maybe not with the both of us. :)

Some Amazing Mommies

These are a few of some great moms in our church. It has been fun watching and learning as they raise their children grounded the Word of God.

Debra is the first mom, with baby Ezra. She told me this story a couple of weeks ago. Jude is her older son, 4 years old. One day at home, he asked, "Mommy, what happens someday if Ezra doesn't love Jesus?" After getting her emotions toghter, she just looked back at him and in a serious way said, "Well, Jude, he might not, so you better start praying that he will someday." She said that immediately he got down on his knees, closed his eyes, folded his hands, and started praying right then and there!This is Mickie and her daughter Makayla. Mickie's daily prayer is to exalt the name of the Lord and do it as a testimony to her 3 children. She and her husband, Jason, have been married for about 7 years now. When they got married, Jason wasn't a Christian. Through several difficult years, praying and relying completely on God, she got to see her husband come to know the Father. And now because of that, he also is a great daddy to his kids.
And this is Becky with Peyton. I love them! Becky is the Children's Ministry Assistant for our church. God has called her to this place and is using her in a strong way to not only raise up her two children in the Lord, but also to be working so that other little ones would come to know Him, too. She has a great love for people and connects well with other moms.

On a Brisk Night in October

Life (a.k.a. my busyness) just isn't getting any better. And I was thinking yesterday how our lives are so short here on Earth. Really, when you think about it, we are here today and gone tomorrow. It's silly when I put it in that perspective because I wonder, "what am I doing to myself?" I have absolutely no down time. I'm constantly running from one committment to the next. I feel like I've jumped into some things that just weren't intended for me, but I can't back out. I want to be responsible and follow-through with committments and jobs and relationships, but I'm getting so worn out. My nights feel like I close my eyes and open them 10 minutes later. I woke up this morning (4:45am) and just started crying because I was so tired and knew that I had a long day ahead of me. But even as I am writing this, I am convicted once again for not seeking complete and utter satisfaction in Christ. I have been praying for contentment and specifically that He would be my Prince of Peace. I have not sought happiness from my days lately. I have been fatigued and have been recovering from strep throat and have simply been exhausted from life. I confess that I have been really selfish in not seeking Christ alone. He is IT. He is the only thing that matters and He will be the only thing that will ever give me joy and rest, even when I'm not physically rested. He loves me deeply and wants me to be in relationship with Him. I've missed that. I can honestly say that I haven't had any quality time with Him in quite awhile now. And my personality is affected because of it. What rambling I'm doing...

On a brighter note, I had Monday off from school and Chris and I took it off from work. We went to Enchanted Rock State Park and hiked to our heart's content. It was definitely the most fun day I've had in Texas since we moved here. It was the first day I started feeling better after having been sick, the weather was great, and I was with the one whom my heart loves. It is beautiful out there. We got sunburned and skinned some knees and bit by fire ants...and I got stuck on top of a huge boulder for a bit...but we had so much fun together. We drove through Fredericksburg on the way back. Chris had never been there before. It's an old German town with lots of cute street shops. We went to a Chocolatier. That was really interesting to me since I studied chocolate art and the making of it in my P&B class. I got to watch the process in the store, then we bought 2 each and savored the flavor on the front bench outside the store.

(Sidenote: I lost my cell phone, in case any of you have tried to contact me. I am continuing to check my messages, but won't be able to call you back most likely since I don't know your number by heart. Call Chris if there's an emergency or you can email me.)

The last thing I'd like to express tonight is still how lonely we are down here. We keep on praying for some close friends, but it's just not happening yet. And we're here for a good amount of time, we believe. Chris has found a seminary campus he can commute to when that time comes, so that will keep us in Austin indefinitely. We love Austin, but we miss our families and our friends so much. I've tried to really let people know how much we are in need of community, but we don't feel like there's genuine interest in us (This isn't true of all parties!). Please pray for that.

I feel extra pessimistic tonight. Disregard my crazytalk. I love you all. I wish I knew if anyone looked at our blog. :)

Time to Slow Down

Chris and I have both been working a ton, but now I have strep throat, so I think that's a reason to slow down. Miraculously, my two events this weekend for work got cancelled, so I have 3 whole days of absolute, committment-free bliss. And even better--I have no school on Monday! If I feel better, we are planning to head out to Enchanted Rock State Park for some hiking. I have felt guilty for awhile now that since I've been working so much, Chris has been getting my leftovers. Leftovers of time, energy, happiness, etc. We had a couple of hard days there, but nothing that some quality time together couldn't fix. We love each other a lot, but we are constantly learning how to love well like Jesus does for us. He does that really well.

I don't remember the last time I had extra time...so this is really wonderful. I took a 4-hour nap after school today, took a shower, did dishes, walked to our mailbox to get the mail, sent out some emails, looked through pictures, planned a menu for next week, and wrote a card. Really, as silly as this is, I am joyful to have time to slow down. Tonight Chris and I are doing a Prison Break marathon, I hope. And maybe some ice cream. Because it's good for my throat, right??

One Down, One To Go

Here is the plated dessert that I presented today for my Practical Final: Hot Citrus Souffle (orange and lemon zest) with Créme Anglaise, 2 Spritz cookies, and the name written with dark, tempered chocolate.
Today I'll be studying for my written exam which is tomorrow, then I'll be DONE with Baking and Pastry! (The celebration is really that I won't have to have the same instructor anymore.) Just thought you'd like to see something I produced today.

Work, Carey, Work. Work, work, work. See Carey work.

Yesterday I was on my feet from 5am, when I woke up, until 12:30am, when I got home from work. I went straight from school to work and straight from work to bed. I worked an event last night at a ranch house in Dripping Springs, and I think it might have been the most expensive house I've ever stepped foot in--definitely a multi-million dollar property. It was unbelieveable; very modern/contemporary interior design, which didn't make it feel quite as homey and comfortable as our 1300 square-foot home with an overgrown backyard, a tree house that needs to be torn down, and lots of other never-ending house projects. I'm glad we have our home. But the event was fun and it was an awesome experience. This one was a 12-course meal for top contributors to the Austin Lyric Opera. We had a private concert at the house, too. That was cool.

I have the day off today, but work tonight. Chris is discipling a college student and is meeting with him this afternoon, so I'm in charge of watering the grass, taping Chris's office for painting, and making a list of goals for our house. When he gets back, we'll paint it, take a walk this afternoon, and hopefully have time to watch some college football together before I head off to work.

I've got one week left in my P&B class, then Garde Manger. That will be my last class before my internship. I'm really getting burned out with school, but am trying to enjoy it while it lasts. I was thinking how less complicated my life will be beginning next year because I'll consolidate two jobs and school into one full-time job. That seems pretty good right now.

Singapore

Here are some pictures of Chris when he was in Singapore. He had a good time, even though he worked A LOT of hours. The best part is that he got to share Christ with some people over there in several different ways.

Moving Day Pics

A mound of boxes at our apartment before we moved.
The gang who helped us.
And a cute little horned owl that lives in our backyard. He has a friend but we haven't seen him in awhile.

My Saturday Night...Not at the ACL Fest

Chris is home! I picked him up from the airport this morning at 8:50am, drove home, dropped him off and headed to babysit familiy #1. 3 kids. We played with Barbies, watched "Spirit," ate pizza for lunch, played with trains, and I put the youngest down for a nap. I went home and it was so good to finally go home to my husband who's been out of the country for 3 weeks. He was anxious to work in the yard, and it looked great when I returned. We have our work cut out for us though as far as seeding in the Spring, planting a garden, trimming dead limbs in our trees, and possibly routing out a sprinkler system. Lots of projects. (I want to mention how much I love Chris! I am so blessed to have him as my husband and share life experiences with him. I started praying for the man I would marry when I was 10 years old, and God surely answered my prayer.) We had planned to eat our dinner together after grilling on our new grill, but we couldn't get it to turn on for some reason, so we opted for cooking it in the oven and over stoptop. We made chocolate-covered strawberries, too, a favorite dessert of ours since we started dating. Chris really tried to stay awake, but he was struggling from jetlag. He finally went to bed not too soon before I left to babysit for family #2. And that's where I am now...while many are at the ACL Fest. I'm at a house in the 78704 neighborhood. Very chic house. Nolan is 10 months and he's sleeping. I talked to my mom on the phone, tried to call JMK (you know who you are), flipped channels for awhile, settling on Iron Chef America, and now doing this. Still an hour or so to go. I'm looking forward to returning home once again to my hubby. I love his company. :) And I'm looking forward to a lazy day tomorrow, getting up when we want, maybe going to play discgolf, working in the yard, or going running together. What fun life is with the one you love. Praise God.

"Distance Makes the Heart Grow Fond"

Hurray! Chris has been gone for 3 weeks to Singapore for work. I've missed him a lot! But his return flight is scheduled for Saturday morning! He's leaving his hotel room in about 2 hours from now and will travel about 30 hours to get back to our new home. He left just 4 days after we moved in, so it will be different to him, I'm sure, to come back here. I'm hoping to welcome him home with a yummy dinner that night on our new grill. He's gotten really tired of eating out on his trip. Unfortunately, however, I scheduled two shifts of babysitting on Saturay from 9:45am-1, and from 7:45pm-11pm. I agreed to them too soon, I think, but it will help with our budget. Christopher will probably be sleeping to catch up from jetlag anyway. I'm so happy he's coming home! What a void in my life to have my husband gone for so long. But I will agree with the old saying...

Rest

"Resting in Jesus, I'm resting in Him. Putting my faith in His Word. Trusting, obeying, my Heavenly Friend. Resting in Jesus, my Lord." (Acapella Children)

For awhile there I was beginning to wonder...stress can take over life so quickly, and I admit that I get easily wrapped up in what's going on in the moment that I forget to keep life in perspective. But I've been able to step back now and see it as such a short time here on this little planet that I get to glorify my God and make much of Him each day I breathe air. Life is still busy for me, but I rest in Jesus and His sovereignty. I cast all my cares on Him. And it's so much better that way.

Last night I got to have some girl time, which was good for me and super-fun. Melanie and I went to Becky's and hung out with her and the girlies. We played with Madi and Peyton, dipped to make chocolate covered strawberries for an office birthday party today, drank some ritas, and watched the season finale of Dawson's Creek! We slept over, too. I really needed time away from the house and school stuff. They are blessings to me.

I had my midterm yesterday in my patisserie class, so I'm halfway done with it now..and after this class, only one more to go! This school year has gone fast, looking back. I'm still loving it and enjoying my job, too.

That's the wrap.

Taking Care of Today

So we moved in two weeks ago and since then, life has not slowed down. Chris is traveling and I am in charge of setting up home. How fun, you say? Oh yes, indeed, if I had time...but life has been very busy and chaotic lately. I start job # 2 tomorrow (which I'm super-excited about, by the way), I was in Dallas for the Labor Day weekend, and with working my other job approx. 20 hours a week, house-stuff hunting and yardwork and school 6 hours a day everyday, I'm realizing that a Sabbath in my life is way overdue. It's hard to just slow down and 'take in life' when my mind is consumed with to do lists and tasks to accomplish for the day. This is one of my greatest faults, I would say. It's easy for me to get caught up in what's going on in my life at the moment and completely forget about everything and everyone else but myself. Pretty selfish of me. But to be honest, when I have any free time at all, I usually just want to sleep. Nice, cold sheets. Three pillows. Heavy blanket. Curtains closed. Dark room. Alarm off. What could be better??

Home Sweet Home

We moved in a week and a half ago. I've been keeping busy remodeling the guest bathroom, fixing up our bedroom, and painting the dining room. Lots of fun. Can't wait to have company one we get it all together.

My baking and patisserie class is going well. It's really easy and pretty layed back. We make lots of really yummy things that just keep broadening my knowledge and skills. I'm so glad I am in culinary school.

I work pretty much the whole weekend, but I plan to head to Colleyville Saturday night til Monday for Labor Day weekend to visit my parents-in-law.

Resurrection of the Roach

So evidently it is possible to stun cockroaches, but not kill them. I just assumed it was dead since it layed on it's back for hours, but last night when we went to the house to bring some more stuff, I checked on it in the garage and it was definitely alive, on it's belly. So I think I need to physically crush it next time after I've disabled it. Today I called and set up our first pest control service to make sure we don't get any more.

Chris wanted me to mention on here that we won the lottery the other day...a whopping $4.00. Every now and then we take our chances and use a dollar to buy a scratch-off ticket, and this time we were victorious.

Ordered a refrigerator yesterday. We didn't expect to have to buy one, but there was a miscommunication in our contract, so now we have a new frige. It's being delivered on Monday. It's black, and has the freezer on the bottom.

And I Thought (enter a famous inventor here) Was Smart

So today I discovered what I think might be the best invention ever created (apart from other significant inventions such as Kitchen Aid mixers and weed whackers): cockroach killer spray. I don't know if you are all aware that for many years now I have suffered from entomophobia, specific only to the Order of Blattodea. I have tried to get over this dumb fear, however, moving to Texas didn't help any. I found one in our garage this morning, hiding in the dark. I panicked only a minute or so, being sure to stand free and clear of it, at least 10 feet away. But I mustered up the courage to destroy this invader. Conveniently and miraculously, there just so happened to be some of this glorious pest spray on a shelf. The old homeowners must have forgotten it, but I know that God had perfectly predestined it to be there for this very moment. The best part about this killing agent is that just by impressing my appendage upon the nozzle button, I was able to "shoot" the devilbug all the way from where I was, not getting near it. It was powerful enough from several feet away to annhilate it. The foaming action confused and disoriented the devilbug and by the time it regained it's senses, the poison had overtaken it's life and it lay motionless on it's back. Though I now have my hope placed in this trusty killing spray, I still had to check on the corpse every now and then just to make sure that it wasn't resurrected by some crazy reason. That's my story of victory for today.

Moving Day Approaches

As of today, we have official possession of our house now. What a wait! I went to Home Depot and bought painting supplies, and I think tomorrow I might head over there to start on a room. Our big move will be this weekend. Chris's dad is coming down to help us, and we think we might have a few others that are interested. Today I researched the best buy for a refrigerator. We are excited to move in and make it our home. In the mean time, our apartment is a disaster! There are a ton of boxes everywhere, and I'm in the middle of packing the kitchen, so there are dishes on the counters and dishes that need to be washed. I feel a bit frazzled when my home isn't organized. Call me a woman, I guess.

Happy Birthday, Meredith!

My dear friend, Meredith, turns 22 today. We met each other on the first day of kindergarten and we have been great friends ever since. We've shared in each others' joys and sorrows through family issues, relationships, school, and other challenges of life. I miss you, Meg!

Kiddos

I've been doing a lot of babysitting recently. It's fun. I do childcare once a week for 10 kids for a community group at our church (Luckily, there's another girl, too, who helps.), and I'm interviewing with a mom to watch her 11 mo. old a couple times a week. I get my kid-fix and I'm good for another week.

Psalm 34:8

I did not have a productive day at all and I felt really lazy today. Tomorrow I have a meeting and I work tomorrow night. And Friday. I love my job. I went to Central Market today and costed out my product list for what I'll need to buy to make the Lemans' dinner in a couple weeks. I'm soo excited, in case you forgot from my last blog. :) I ordered business cards online today for free. Well, you have to pay the shipping fee, but that's still pretty cheap. I'm in the process of creating a website for my company. I should hurry and purchase the domain name so that it doesn't get taken, but I'm still thinking through a lot of it. I don't want to make a hasty decision.
Here's a cropped version of my business card...without my personal info.