time to give thanks.

In lieu of all the recent Facebook posts of thanks and thanksgiving, I have given a lot of thought to what I am truly grateful for and how truly blessed I am. This year, or i should say this last month, has really shown to me what life is truly about and how extremely thankful I should be everyday for what we have. Over the past month, my dear grandfather passed away at a ripe old age, but not without leaving behind many memories. My sister in law, my brothers wife, was diagnosed with stage III papillary carcinoma, at a mere five weeks postpartum with her third baby and at 27 years of age. Lastly, I lost a patient, a dear friend, to a  battle that she fought so hard to win without one complaint. Life is so truly precious. I am grateful for a job that reminds me daily, just how truly special and precious life can be.

This Thanksgiving, I am so overwhelmed with the Spirit. I have been brought to my knees in prayer with tears in my eyes, both in pleading for comfort and thanking the Lord for all the blessings.  I am so grateful for the knowledge of eternal life that I have.  The Plan of Salvation is such a beautiful concept, and I am so happy that I know that death is not the end. It brings so much peace and joy to know that someday, we will all meet again.  Our Heavenly Father has a plan for each and everyone of us. He knows each of us, as individuals. I am so thankful for my health, my family, my loving husband, our sweet Ralphy, our jobs, our home...the list can go on endlessly. 

july.

well, this post will be lacking really any pictures because of recent events.  The last weekend in June our car was broken into and my whole purse was stolen. It had my wallet (credit cards/drivers license/social security card....learned a hard lesson), camera, i-pod, gift-cards from our wedding, and plenty of other things in it. I am grateful for my safety and that something worse didn't happen but it still wasn't an easy pill to swallow.

The week after was the 4th of July. I had to work...but I still love that holiday. We stayed pretty low key and just went to a barbecue after work. Ralphy wasn't too fond of the fireworks so we ended up staying in afterwards.

That following weekend we went to St. George, Utah to meet up with Greg's family and do some boating. We rented a car after flying into Vegas and ended up getting a brand new red mustang. It was fun to drive but a little cramped. It was nice to get out of Dallas for a few days, so we took advantage of already being out-of-state and went to Las Vegas for 2 days. We relaxed, shopped, and enjoyed sleeping in. We stopped by Gold and Silver Pawn Store that is on the show "Pawn Stars," but no such luck in meeting anyone. We were happy to get back and see our Ralphy, and he was happy to be home.

Since then we have been back to the daily grind. I started a new PRN job in addition to my regular job and love it. It is a nice change for working on the floor. Greg is still working and we are looking into future career options and possibilities for school. This coming weekend we are heading to Kansas for the weekend.

somebody graduated...

he wasn't so thrilled about having his picture taken with a cap on.

Ralphy graduated from his class and passed with flying colors. He was so cute and we are so proud.

april..may..JUNE

oh geez...over a month has gone by...again...since we've updated. life has been great and busy. ralphy  has fully adjusted to being a member of our little family and boy do we love this little guy. he brings so much happiness and extra laughter into our home. we spend lots of time on walks and at the dog park....and at petsmart. he is spoiled :)...and deserves it. we have been taking beginner classes at petsmart and he is passing with flying colors. the instructor has even asked if we have considered training him as a therapy dog. he is doing great with off-leash walking...even though mom is still stressed he is going to run away.

other than ralphy, the dog park, and just plain being outside, we haven't had much exciting news. Greg just started the summer semester and is taking classes online so he can work extra hours. it is nice to have him home more. we went thrift store hunting a few weeks back because i was dying for a new project. the only two things we could find that we wanted was either too expensive, or too big for our apartment. so i talked greg into going to home depot and building from scratch. we're not quite done with it, but we built a blanket chest/future toy chest (not an announcement). this was sparked by the cedar chest that we had found at a consignment shop but they still wanted almost $200 for it. we had a lot of fun building it together. all we have left to do is add hinges, which are sitting on the kitchen counter.

the mostly finished chest

being mischievous

Ralphy after his first haircut...he wasn't super happy about his photo shoot

ralphy and other updates.

here are a few more pictures of our little ralphy. we are adjusting to lots of trips up and down 4 flights of stairs for potty trips and early mornings...but he is totally worth it.

overall, he is a great pup :)

here are a few other pictures. i was cancelled the friday before Easter so we had the chance to color eggs (it was Good Friday, so school was cancelled, too). wilbur (aka the Easter Bunny) also came to visit our house this year. we had my brother and his family over for dinner and it turned out great!

i also finished the nightstands that i started re-doing prior to the wedding. they turned out super cute.

(before---got them for 20$/piece at the best thrift store in town)

(after-- not too shabby)

a new addition...

say hello to ralphy :)

we both love dogs and have wanted one since before we got married. for some reason last night, i just decided it was time and could hardly sleep. i woke up this morning and the first thing i did when i rolled over was asked gregory if we could go get a dog today. well, a puppy would be a little hard for our schedules, as well as our living situation...and we both have always wanted to rescue. to the shelter we went.

operation kindness is this great no-kill shelter in carrollton, tx and we adopted our first kiddo from there. we both really loved it there and wanted to take everyone home. even though we couldn't, they are in great hands there. there were so many cuties, but little ralph stole my heart. i think greg knew the game was over when i wouldn't leave his side. i was afraid someone else was going to want him. he is a 3 year old schnauzer/schnoodle (we think and were told). he is a total cutie. he loves to cuddle but still has some playful puppy in him. he isn't house-broken yet so mom and dad are learning to train. any tips would be great :)

we love our ralphy and are so happy to have him in our family/home

the last little while.

we have been enjoying married life and have been trying to find lots of fun (cheap/free) things to do in dallas. it has been fun to have greg have a little time off before he started work so that we could enjoy days together that i had off of work. here are a few of our little adventures:

1. we both love movies and so we have been going to see a lot of matinees. man on a ledge was on of my favorites that we saw. i was afraid it was going to just be a man on a ledge the whole time but it was well worth the time and money.

2. we go to the mall quite often for the movies so we have become avid mall walkers. i saw this "cupcake" and about died. i think greg was embarrassed i was taking pictures of store windows.

3. back in january we went and saw the jazz vs mavericks game and went to dinner in victory park. i was hoping and praying we would have a khloe kardashian siting....but no such luck. don't worry...i keep trying (almost daily :) )

4. our first valentine's day was great. we both got new phones so we are now on the same phone plan and won't be paying an arm and a leg for our phone service. i also got some new leggings that aren't see-through (almost impossible to find, i swear), and some new body butter that i fell in love with from victoria's secret. my sister gave me some before my wedding and it is fantastic. greg got a new utes hat, jazz shirt, and a puzzle (another thing that we both enjoy doing). it was a nice relaxing day and we went out and enjoyed dinner at iron cactus in downtown dallas.

almost 2 months later...

here are some pictures from the wedding...enjoy :)

whew...sorry it took so long. it has been busy around here. i've been working tons, greg has been studying hard in school and just took a new job. we are loving being married and learning the adjustments of being newly married :)

just a preview.