nebraska!

So we arrived in Nebraska... and there is no snow...it sure is cold though!  We took family pictures on Tuesday and we celebrated Christmas this morning so that we did not have to do it the day before we leave and Reagan's mom get really sad. 
My dad called this morning and said there is snow coming... I love being here and visiting them, but I have never been away from my family on Christmas and I want to be home with them this year too!  So please pray that our flight leaves when it is supposed to on Friday morning so that we can fly home and be with our family on Christmas!
We have had way too many sweet treats while we have been here... so I will definitely be hitting the gym once we get back home; luckily I have not consumed as near as much treats as Reagan has!
We have taken lots of pictures while we have been here, so we will post soon! His sisters are loving having us here and they cannot get enough hugs from us... such cuties!
We will be headed back to Texas to celebrate with my family in 2 days... cross your fingers and say lots of prayers!!!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas holiday celebrating Jesus and his birth with friends and family!

"Remember Jesus was born, died, and rose again so that we could have LIFE in Him... that is the Real reason we should all cherish Christmas!"

Packing, Packing, Packing

So today has been a day of packing and getting ready for San Antonio and Nebraska.  There is still so much to do, so I cannot wait for Reagan to get home from work so that we can get it all done!
On Friday, Reagan found out that there is going to be a charge for checking our bags... which was going to be quite expensive, so Reagan decided we could make all our stuff fit in a carry on suitcase each.  I am freaking out because I am cold all the time and in Nebraska it is FREEZING!  SO hopefully we are going to be able to make this work because if not I am  going to freeze my butty off!  So tonight we are going to cram those carry on suitcases the best we can and make it work... it should be pretty entertaining!

Today, I went and got a massage at Massage Envy.  It was INCREDIBLE!  I randomly found a gift card in my wallet and thought I had already used it and got the massage... I was wrong!  So I treated myself this afternoon with the massage and all the hard work that I put in this semester at school.  It was the most relaxing massage I have ever had... definitely needed that!

Also, on Friday I went and got my hair done and I am back to my original color... a shade of brown.  Though the lady that does my hair did the color a little richer than my natural.  Everyone has loved it and Reagan really likes it too, so I guess it looks good!  I am still not used to it because I have not had my natural color in FOREVER!  Pictures of the new do to come soon!

Well off to more laundry and packing and a movie!

"Life is such a beautiful treasure!"

christmas break is here!!

So I took my last final for this semester, it feels so good to be done and to have a little break! I am excited to spend time with family and hang with my awesome hubby-- we have not gotten to do that in a while since finals consumed me!

After I got home from my last final today I had planned on going to work out for the third time this week but my body and mind was just too tired.  So Reagan and I will be headed to the gym tomorrow for sure!  Tomorrow he has a day off so I am pretty excited to get to spend time with him and our last Christmas gift for family should arrive tomorrow so we can finish wrapping presents and start packing for Nebraska and San Antonio! Tomorrow, I also have an appointment to get my hair done.  I think I may be going dark... we shall see.  I will post pictures of the final product :)

Saturday I am getting pampered by my hubby... he is so awesome.  He had gotten me a gift card for a one hour massage a while back and I had yet to use it so he told me to make an appointment for Saturday morning, and he told me I could get my nails and toes done too since I worked so hard on finals.  He is so sweet, I love him so so much!

Tonight we are going out and celebrate me finishing finals and our friends birthday! Cannot wait!!

Oh and PS... I cannot believe I only have one Semester of College left... This is REAL LIFE!!!!! :) WOOHOO!

"Giving it your all, always pays off in the end!"

one more left :)

So I have one more final left to take... my brain is getting tired... thank goodness there is only one more!
I started off the morning with a fabulous workout with Julie Riggins, man did we sweat! It felt good to start the morning that way! Reagan and I came home from the gym, had breakfast together and then I showered and got ready for my test and he left for work. I think the nutrition test went well today... all I can say is that I did my best and that is all that counts! After the test, I came home and my hubby brought me Chick-fil-A grilled chicken wrap for lunch.. yum!  Then we went to visit a girl in the hospital from our youth group that had knee surgery... she was still out of it when we went to see her and I felt bad for her because her knee was hurting :(  Then on the way home we stopped for shakes as a treat and I got a small and did not finish it all, so I do not feel like my workout was wasted this morning. :)  I am now studying more for my test that is tomorrow morning before Reagan and I go to dinner with sweet friends for sushi!!!!

Once tomorrow mornings test is over I have a lot to get accomplished... pack for Nebraska and San Antonio, Birthday party for our sweet friend Carlos, Youth Christmas Party on Friday, Clean up the house since I have neglected it all week (oops!), get the car packed, get my hair colored and cut on Friday, eye brow wax, and nails done.  A lot going on these next couple of days... all I really want to do is read a good book, sleep, and allow my brain to recover!

Off to studying again... I can do this!!! Thursday I cannot wait to see you :)

"Studying makes the brain smarter... right?!"

Almost there... Thursday could not come soon enough!

Ughh I am so tired of studying... it is becoming nonproductive.  My brain hurts... all I want to do is watch Holiday movies, read leisure books, sleep, and hang out with my handsome hubby.  Though I have to keep studying.  I have my nutrition exam tomorrow at 1130 and my HBSE exam Thursday at 1130.  Honestly I wish Thursday was tomorrow and I could be done with it all.  When Thursday is over I have a lot to get done.  We have a dinner party for a good friend Thursday night, the youth Christmas party on Friday night, packing all day Saturday for Nebraska and San Antonio,  work on my online Texas Teachers stuff so I can get my certifications, workout, and sleep somewhere in there. I have so much to do and so little time.  I just cannot wait until this semester is over and my last semester of college in the spring!

I am looking forward to Christmas break though... lots of time with family and friends... I cannot wait.

Well I guess I better get back to studying.... ughhhhhh!  Thursday please come soon!

"Studying has taken over me... Luckily there is an end in sight!"

christmas tree, oh christmas tree

So Reagan and I finally finished decorating our very first Christmas tree together.  I thought I would take a picture of it while the tree was lit.  It turned out really pretty... it has his favorite childhood ornaments, my favorite childhood ornaments, colorful ornaments, gold beads, and wedding ornaments.  It turned out wonderfully!
It is so weird to think that we are starting traditions together as a family! We have been loving every minute of it!!
We still have quite the Christmas shopping to do, but tonight we have decided to be lazy-- so I guess it will get done eventually!
I hope everyone has had a wonderful day and has enjoyed decorating for the holidays.  I will post more Christmas decorating pictures soon!

Our First Christmas Tree!! (More pictures to come soon!!)

"Traditions are those that are made with the ones you love."

Humbled by God's Love

Today was just one of those days where I could see and feel God in places that many may not on a day to day basis.  Today I had to do something that I do not like doing at all but I did it with the courage God gave me, and it made me a positive experience. I felt God through that entire meeting giving me the words to say, keeping myself accountable, and allowing myself to be open and honest.  God has given me a gift and heart for children and I love them with everything I have to give.  I felt God move in my Pre-K classroom today... through a hug from a little boy with a big smile on his face, to rocking a precious baby girl to sleep in my arms and looking at her and knowing God made her just the way she is.

I also got to experience the overwhelming joy of watching people from our church get baptized today.  It was incredible to watch a 6 year old, a college student and a middle aged man show their love for God without hesitation and it overwhelmed my heart.  God is definitely moving in me and I can feel it.  When I look at children in our church all I can do is smile and know that God holds all of them in His hands and has a special plan for each one of them.  I pray in the days, weeks, months and years to come I live out God's plans for my life and help impact and change the lives of children for the kingdom of Christ.  I have a gift, an incredible gift, one that I would never give up.  The gift of loving on an innocent precious child is one of the most incredible things that demonstrates God's incredible love with just one hug or smile.

I hope everyone was blessed today and saw God's love in one way or another!

"God your love never ceases to amaze me."

I am in need of a break...

Life has been a little too much for me this year.  Being newly married, figuring out how to live with a boy, school, work stuff, the list could go on and on.  To sum it all up 2010 has exhausted me and I do not know how much more of it I can take. I simply need a break and I am hoping that 2011 brings some wonderful things that allow life to be taken a little bit slower so that I can actually put one foot in front of the other!

I am ready for life to make a little bit more sense, for my plate not to feel like it is overflowing all of the time, and for their to just be a peace about every decision we have made for our life.  I am just exhausted thinking about all we have endured this year.  I was telling a friend today that if I could sleep for an entire week I most definitely would.

Without hesitation, this year has taught me how to need God even more than before and that my husband is truly a blessing from above.  We have been through it all-- happiness, sadness, tears, frustrations, laughter-- the good and the bad.  We are ready to move forward, get out of this season and see what God has in store for us in 2011.  I need a break and more than anything I cannot wait for that to come.  December 16th you could not come any sooner!

When you think of us in the weeks to come continue to pray for us.  Pray that we have endurance, that God keeps us physically healthy, that we have patience and understanding, and that more than anything we continue to turn to Him for everything.

"God grant me the wisdom and peace to know that I do not endure this life on my own."

Hello December, I am so happy to see you!

I cannot believe it is December 1st already-- I am so excited!  I cannot wait for this 18 hour semester to be over... it has been a long one but it is finally coming to an end!

A little recap of Thanksgiving:
It went really well-- both our families celebrated today so that was nice to have everyone in one place-- though we did miss Reagan's mom and Step-dad and little sisters who were celebrating with his side of the family.  The food was delicious and we spent a lot of time just hanging out with family which was such a wonderful blessing.  We are so grateful for our family and it was definitely hard for us to leave!  Cannot wait to go back for Christmas!!

The Farish townhouse looks like Christmas has exploded.  Reagan loves decorating for Christmas so we have had a good time decorating together.  Pictures to come soon... we are still waiting to receive a few decorations from my mom!  We did a little Christmas shopping last night and we are hoping to finish by the end of this week so we can get it out of the way. 
I am not looking forward to studying for finals-- but the time is coming so I am ready to just get it over with!

The countdown in our house has already begun for our visit to Nebraska.  We are both super excited to visit his mom there and play in the snow and celebrate Christmas with them!  It is going to be a lot of fun and she has a lot of fun things planned for us to do so I am definitely looking forward to the time we will get to spend with them!

Well off to studying again... story of my life.  I cannot wait to be officially done with school in the spring!!!

Oh-- and be praying for me-- I am applying to be a sub next semester because I have some days off from school and I am going to be begin the Texas Teachers program online to get my certification to teach elementary school.... So excited!  Just pray that I am able to get a job when I get out :)

"Today is a new day--- embrace every precious gift God has given you!"