BC days 18 & 19

These blog challenge days sure are going by fast.  I didn't have time to post yesterday, long story!

Linking up with Katie :)

Day 18:  Something you regret

I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason and that it's God's plan.  I try to live without regrets because worrying and wishing things were another way doesn't do me or anyone else any good.  Each path I've chosen in life has brought me to where I am today.  So, that's what I think about that. :)

Day 19:  Something you miss

I miss a lot of things (and people) since hubs and I live across the country.

I miss...

*Family, niece and nephews, best girl friends from Louisville, my dogs Riley and Webster!, being at U of L (sometimes!--not the nasty on-campus living though and studying--eck), U of L games, Kentucky fall foliage, student teaching at CGES, mom's cooking for sure.

*I also miss Madison, Wisconsin!  The farmers market around the capitol square (yum spicy cheese bread and other treats) and the *free* zoo with the oh so cute and chubby prairie dogs and polar bears that I loved.  And Ian's Pizza on State street!  Sometimes I miss the snow but when I think of temps at minus 14 and wind chill at minus 32, I could do without that!  We only lived there for 6 months, so we didn't meet a ton of friends.  It was kind of like hubs' and my time to check out a new place and have fun together.  Yes we went sledding at fourteen below zero!

Some of my favorites from the zoo...

September 2009

September 2009

He he!!
September 2009

Beautiul Capitol building on a cooollllldddd winter day!

December 2009
This was the first massive snow fall.  Yeah, Nathan tried to go to work that day.  I walked outside with him at 5 am and we both realized there was no way he was getting out!

Out the door to our little porch.  The Christmas lights were frozen over.

Nathan's truck buried in 24 inches of snow!

January 2010

Pooped from walking up the massive hill so many times--fun though!

Sledding in Madison - January 2010

January 2010
I think this picture was at taken at the zoo.  I told you we frequently went there!  It's even open with 2 feet of snow, 4 feet in shoveled areas!  No crowds :) And you better believe I'm wearing at least two pair of pants and several shirts. haha

January 2010
At the polar bear exhibit.  They must have super sharp claws and sticky foot pads because they never slipped on snow or ice. hah

January 2010
Trying not to slip on ice!

*And Salt Lake City!  Ohhhh the mountains!  I miss that and the wonderful friends we made there.

April 2010
This is the view from Sugarhouse Park, just down the street from where we lived.  It was about 60 degrees in the valley, but still lots of snow on the mountains.

View from our apartment-facing west-ish.

Hiking in May 2010

Hiking in May --made it up to the snow! Cold and windy.

Well, just thought I'd share some pictures of the places we've lived and what I miss.  Once I started looking through old pictures, I found more and more that I wanted to post.  So I guess I will leave it at this. lol We also lived in another part of Wisconsin but that will have to be another flashback post (I have lots of pictures of us standing in 5 foot snow drifts)!

Oops, I just realized I need to go water the cactus!  It's been a while and we haven't had rain.  oopsie  I promise I can take better care of a child than a plant!  I would not leave the child outside to dry up, either! ha!

What I'm Loving Wednesday...

Join me in linking up with Jamie for

Short and sweet today...

What I'm loving most of all today is that my SIL, niece, and nephew came back home from a 6 week trip to Japan!!  They went to visit my SIL's family and my brother wasn't able to go because of his silly work.  I hear they had a great visit.  I'm sure it will take some time to get the kids (3 years and 7 months old) to get over the jet lag in time for some Halloween fun this weekend!  My niece, Alissa, wants to wear BOTH of her disney princess dresses.  ha!  How funny is that?  Wonder how that's going to go.  So glad to have them back (even though I won't see them til Christmastime).

Here's a pic of my brother and his family:

September 2009

As always, I'm loving my hubs! (I decided to use one of his baby pictures this week! hehe!)

Little Nay

Oh and Grand Canyon pics are coming!  Hopefully tomorrow!

BC Day 17

Day 17: Something I'm looking forward to

That's easy...CHRISTMAS!!

In just a few weeks, hubs and I will be heading to Kentucky to be with family and friends for Christmas and we are so looking forward to it!!

We can't wait to see these little ones...

Niece Alissa at 3 years, 4 months

Alissa at 3 years, 7 months

Our nephew Kaisei at 3 months

Kai at 6 months

Nephew Micah at 2 weeks

Micah at 2 weeks

 We also look forward to seeing our parents, my sibs, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, and of course the sweet pups!!  It can't come soon enough.  Not to mention, it will be a nice break from work for Nate.  He deserves it!

BC Day 16

Day 16: Dream House

It's sort of fitting that today's BC topic is "dream house" because yesterday was the first day I went out with the real estate agent to view some of the listings.  However, we all know that we most likely won't be able to afford our dream house for quite a while.  Even if money wasn't an issue though, I still wouldn't want one of those houses on MTV's Cribs!  What a pain it would be to clean it all!  Well, I guess if you have tons of money rolling in, you could pay to have it cleaned.  But whatever...who needs a house that big, really? haha

If I had my way, my dream house would have a LARGE kitchen.  I'm talking TONS of counter space (*cough-dark granite-cough*), dark-stained staggered cabinets with fancy silver hardware and lighting on the top, and a double oven!  Oh and diagonal tile and stainless appliances with a french door fridge, bottom drawer freezer...you did say dream house, right? :)

Of course, who wouldn't want a large master bedroom with french doors to a deck or patio!?  And a big 'ol bathroom with a whirlpool for bubble baths!

But I would like to have an interior decorator's advice because some of these model homes I've been looking at are SO nice and I see price tags from Kirklands.  Sometimes I just can't think of the ideas in my head and put it all together, so having someone help me out would be nice.

I would also enjoy a large back patio with a built in grill and nice outdoor furniture for entertaining.  (Hey, a lot of houses here in Phoenix have built in grills and fire pits, so it's not too much to ask!)

I know we would also really like a home library/study.  Nathan has always wanted a room full of built in bookcases to shelve his million books.  And one of those little ladders to reach the top shelf. :)

Pretty landscaping would be nice too.  They call it desert landscaping here, but you can get a nice look with rocks as your front yard instead of grass, if you use lots of blooming plants (and a palm tree or two)!! :)

I found a few pics when I did a quick search.  These are "computerized photos" of some homes in the Phoenix area.  Obviously these homes have grass landscaping, which is hard to come by here, unless you want to pay $$$$$ for it.  And some more $$$$$ to water it year round!  Sheesh.

I kind of hated writing this post because I don't want to sound needy or "wanty".  I know there are people out there who live in mud huts and some that don't even have homes.  I guess everyone is entitled to dream a little though.  In reality, I just want a comfortable home, to feel safe, and a nice place to raise a family.  The perks and "upgrades" don't really matter in the end.

BC Days 12-15 (oops!)

Day 12: What you believe

I believe...

-We are sinners.  (Romans 3:23)

-God made a way through His son, Jesus.  (Romans 5:6-11)

-Jesus paid the ultimate price and bore the punishment we deserved so that we could be saved.  He paid for our sin by dying on the cross and rose three days later, overcoming sin and death.  He now sits at the right hand of God in Heaven. (Romans 8:3, 32-34)

-If we trust in Jesus and confess that he is Lord and believe in our heart, we will be saved. (Romans 10:9)

If you are reading this and want more information on the story of Jesus and the good news that you can be saved, send me an email or comment!  It is a wonderful story and I am thankful my Creator made a way for me to live with Him forever and to not bear the weight of sin.

Day 13: Goals

In no particular order...

-read Bible more

-be a Psalms 31 woman

-visit as many National Parks as we can

-visit all MLB ballparks

-buy first home with my hubs

-be a successful teacher

-be a momma

-adopt

-overseas mission trip

-do paid photo shoots

-exercise more

Day 14:  A picture you love

I have thousands of pictures I love but I will choose these three...

Nathan's mission trip to Guatemala with Highview Baptist Church in June 2008.  We got engaged a week before he left and I couldn't go because I was in grad school full time that summer and couldn't miss a week of my 4 week class :(   They had a great trip and we both hope to go again one day!

They took a pinata full of candy for the kiddos.

The kids loved them.  One day, they brought McDonalds for each of them.  One little 4 or 5 year old girl said she only ate her fries so she could save the chicken nuggets to take home to her 16 year old sister.

Day 15: Bible Verse

A couple favorites...

You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

Matthew 5:14-16

Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Psalms 37:4

God is able to do immeasurably more than all we could ask or imagine.

Ephesians 3:20

I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.

Philippians 4:13

Images borrowed from google images.

BC Day 11

Blog Challenge Day 11: Favorite TV Shows

When my hubs and I moved to AZ, we chose not to get cable because we realized we wasted too much time in front of the TV, plus it's nice to save an extra $50-60 per month!  However, there are a few shows we like to watch and have been able to watch them on hulu, abc, or nbc, or TLC online! (Just a day or so late.)

My favorite is 19 Kids and Counting!  I wish I could just live in the Duggars' home for just one week to see how they do it!  They are definitely inspirational when it comes to loving your spouse and parenting.

We also like to watch The Office.  We have watched it since it started and think it's pretty funny!

We recently started watching Outsourced after The Office.  It's okay, but we don't think it'll last too long on TV!

Other than that, we just check out movies from the library.  They have a nice collection of newer movies, but I just have to be on hold for a while.  I don't mind though, because we always have a queue of library movies sitting in the living room.

Last year, the day after Thanksgiving, we bought Heroes season 1 on DVD because it was a great deal.  We JUST opened it the other day and started watching.   We got through the first episode and HAD to watch the second!  It's really suspenseful...not sure why it didn't last long on TV.  We'll definitely have to check out the next two seasons from the library!

I've heard good things about The Event.  Maybe we'll look that one up online sometime.

What do you watch?

What I'm Loving Wednesday...

Linking up with Jamie for WILW.

I'm loving that we're halfway through the week!  Nathan has been working hard and hasn't felt well the past few days, so we are ready for the weekend!

I'm loving that we got to visit the Grand Canyon for the first time this past weekend! (Pics to come)

I'm loving the cooler weather (again)!!  It actually smells like fall today.

I'm loving the apple strudel muffin recipe that my friend Lauren posted HERE.  I tried it out and they were so yummy!

I'm loving this giveaway, because who doesn't want to win a Target giftcard!!  Go there and enter now!

As always, I'm loving my wonderful husband!!

What are YOU loving this Wednesday!?

BC Day 10

Day 10: Something you're afraid of


This list was pretty easy for me to come up.  I'm equally afraid of all of these:


needles
the dark
drowning
car wrecks
losing someone I'm close to
the fake chainsaw man that chases me at the haunted corn maze


I think that about covers it! :)





Image borrowed from www.icanhascheezburger.com

BC Day 9: Friends!

Day 9:  Pictures of your friends

Picture Overload!!

I was looking through my hard drive and found tons of pics of my besties that I wanted to post, so I really had to narrow it down!  If you are a new reader, this may be boring because you may not know any one, but if you keep reading, you will hear me speak of these people!  Nathan and I met most of our good friends when we were in college and went to church in Louisville, KY.  These ladies have been the BEST friends anyone could ask for.  Now that we live so far away, we miss this A LOT!  But we try to keep in touch as much as possible!  We also miss the good friends we made in Utah.  Hopefully this post will help document some fun get togethers we've had.  Enjoy the pictures...(they are not really in order until you get half way down or so)

This is from 2007, I think (?) at a sad, sad going away party for our dear friends Jenny (back row, grey sweater) and Laurie (front row, orange sweater) who moved away for their husbands to pastor at different churches.

My friend Lauren and I at a UofL football game, around fall 2008

Halloween 2008: Lauren and I were the doublemint twins, Sowmya was Hershey's and her man was the marshmallow of a s'more, Lindsey in the back was a Hannah Montana tween fan, Tara and her man were big teacher geeks, Samantha didn't dress up!, Janet was a black cat, and Sarah was Dr. McDiva.  I loved this Halloween party because it was the year Nathan lived in Wisconsin and drove down that weekend and surprised everyone!

My friends Tara and Lauren.  I think this was in 2007...an ornament making party!

Me and Sowmya

Janet, Jenny, Tara, Lauren, and I

One of Nathan's birthday celebrations at the bowling alley, where Tara and her hubs hit it off, I might add! lol  P.S, Lindsey is the silly one with the ball in her shirt!  She wanted to be a momma so bad and now has a beautiful 6 month old daughter!

Mission Trip to Bay St. Louis to help out with this house that was destroyed during Katrina.

Tara and I working in the little girls room.

Tara, Me, Janet, and Samantha taking a break at the house!

This was Nathan's surprise going away party/pool party!  A lot of our close friends came down from Louisville and surprised him the weekend before he moved to Wisconsin!  It was so much fun!

Everyone being silly!

At my bridal tea
Jordan (my sister), Lauren, Sowmya, Me, Tara, Lindsey, and Brooke (who just had her baby 2 days ago!)

Us girls again

The weekend before our wedding, we went hiking with some friends in Southern Indiana
Sowmya and Zach, Joe and Lindsey, Me and Nate

Sowmya is not too outdoorsy! lol

And a few pics from my wedding:

Me and my BMs

My sister and I

Cute feet and shoes!

This was New Years Eve 2009 at our friends, Tyler and Stephanie's wedding...so fun!

A few pics from Lauren's big day!

Our last reunion - September 2010

And I HAD to include our friends from Salt Lake City whom we miss SO much!
Carl and Kala, Caleb and Kelly, Nate and Melissa, and Me and Nathan

Of course, my pups are my besties!  This is my buddy Riley.

And my buddy Webster!

I hope you enjoyed all of the pics of my friends and I.  We miss everyone SO much and can't wait to see them at Christmastime!! :)