Catching Up

I know, I know….I have become a terrible blogger! Life has just been pretty consistently crazy for the last couple of months. I have made the big move to Lake Highlands. I no longer live within walking distance of work…which is really unfortunate considering gas prices. I absolutely love being in a house with all its perks. One of the biggest perks being the ability to park right in front of your house. When you forget something you don’t have to make the long trek back into the back of the apartment complex to get it, you just run in and are back in the car within the minute. There are many other perks…including great roommates, hardwood floors, and a place to entertain.

Of course, I also went to Brazil, which was amazing, hard, challenging, and stretching. I will attempt to do a whole separate blog entry on my trip, but for now, I will tell you about my favorite moment from the trip. We were in our last village of the week. We had done VBS in the morning and the afternoon, and were hanging around outside waiting to have our service that night. Amit had a group of kids gathered around him on the steps of the Catholic church, so he grabbed a translator and started sharing the gospel with them. It was incredible to watch their eyes just glued to him as he told them about the most amazing thing anyone had ever done for them. Sweet, precious Linda was translating for Amit. In the middle of Amit praying the prayer of salvation with some of the kids, Linda just broke down and started crying. Once she composed herself, she told us that she could just see the hunger in the kids’ eyes. This particular village doesn’t get many visitors who would share the gospel with them, because only a few short years ago they would stone any Christians that stepped foot in the village. It was one of the most powerful things I have ever experienced. I couldn’t stop the tears from flowing down my face. After they finished praying with the kids, Linda told Amit that the old man sitting a few steps behind the kids had prayed the prayer too. I LOVE how God uses us…even in places we aren’t expecting to be used...actually, most of all in those places! God taught me a lot while I was there. A lot about Him and a lot about myself and my walk with Him and a lot about how I relate to other people. I love that He taught me things, but the hard part for me is always bringing that back to my life here in Dallas. I'm still working on it - more on that later.

Since I’ve been back from Brazil I’ve been busy unpacking the rest of my boxes, finishing up the semester with my 8th grade girls, watching Rebekah graduate from A&M, and enjoying a restful Memorial Day weekend in Dallas. It has been a super fast, great, and busy month. The next couple of weeks hold lots of wedding festivities for Michelle. So unbelievable that she is getting married! I might not post until after the wedding next weekend, but I most definitely will after that!

Big News...a little late

I have a new job. I've already been working there for 3 weeks...I've been a bit of a blog slacker. It's completely crazy how God put all the pieces into place. I was starting to think there was a chance that I might want to eventually go back to working in tax. I wasn't thinking anytime soon, just sometime out in the future. I even talked about it with my boss one day. The next day I went to lunch with my friend Amy (who I worked with at PwC), and she got in the car with a job description and asked me if I wanted a new job. That is the short version of how I find myself working at Brinker (the company that owns Chili's, On the Border, Macaroni Grill, and Maggiano's). It all happened so fast and has been so crazy that I have barely had time to process the fact that I've changed jobs, but I know that God's hand was undeniably in it and that it has been a good change.

One of the greatest parts of my job is the comp card I get to eat for free at Chili's and half off at all the other restaurants. The funny part is what I have to do to earn it. This Monday & Tuesday I will be working at Chili's. One day in the kitchen (yes, they are going to let me cook), and one day as a hostess. I think it will be an adventure for sure!!

Other than the new job, the last month has been pretty full. Amy, Kami, Erin and I drove to Amarillo for Billy & Katherine's wedding, we had D-Town (our disciple now), had a birthday party for PapaDub's 75th, and celebrated LB's birthday.

Erin, Kami, Amy, me at Billy & Katherine's Wedding

My girls at D-Town

Sisters & Cousins at PapaDub's Birthday party.

Celebrating LB's Birthday at the kitchen table at Buca di Beppo.

I'm moving next weekend, and then headed to Brazil the next Friday. Needless to say, my blogging is probably going to stay sparse for a while!

I Am a Nerd!

I'm a nerd. This is something I've always known, but has somehow seemed more apparent lately. The first and most defining thing that makes me a nerd is that I love to do tax returns. It's not normal. When friends need help with their taxes, I get excited (almost elated) to help them figure it out. I will spend hours of my free time in the spring helping people with their taxes.

I think that I should have seen from a young age that maybe I was meant to be an accountant. I have always loved filling out forms. Yet again, not a normal love of most children. I think forms are a little bit like tax returns...definitely should have seen the signs. I also like reading manuals. If anyone in the family gets electronics for Christmas, it is usually me reading the manual figuring out how everything works...I love it. And let's just polish it off with one of my biggest quirks - I love Excel. I'm honestly fascinated with everything that it can do, and I am thrilled whenever I figure out how to do something new. How to set up a new formula, how to make a simple spreadsheet more functional, even how to make it look more appealing, I love it all. So there you have it, my nerdiness in all its glory.

On another note, I went to dinner with some coworkers last night. We had gift cards to Houston's from Christmas that we hadn't used. It was so fun to hang out with them outside of work. Here are a few pictures from our evening.

Me & SarahBeth

The whole group. Becky, Julie, Veronica, SB, me, Brooke

Me & Brooke

Since I last blogged...

Wow - it's been a long time since I've been on this thing. A lot has happened...I guess. Here's a brief update.

Christmas & Its Parties:

Community Group girls at the Student Ministries Christmas Party.

Work Christmas Party

I had the week between Christmas & New Years off, which was such a blessing. My family was in Granbury with my grandparents before Christmas and then in Amarillo for Christmas day and the rest of the week. It was a great time to rest & relax after a crazy December. I enjoyed getting to hang out with my family. Unfortunately, I have no good pictures of my time at home.

Shawn Turned 25:

Ski Trip:

Shawn & I went skiing. The trip I planned dwindled down to the two of us. We ended up having a ton of fun since we ski at the same pace. Taos had great snow just for us!!!

Winter Chill:

This weekend we had a Jr. High girls retreat. It was great hang out time with the girls & getting to talk about stuff they are really dealing with. I can hardly believe they are in their last semester of Junior High - how time flies!!!

The girls - aren't they grown up?!

Me & Laura - gotta love her!!! I think this was the 8th picture we took to finally get a decent one!

And...I have roommates:

Julia is doing her externship next year at the Mayo clinic in Arizona, so I knew I was going to have to start searching for a roommate soon. It just so happens that two girls I work with (and love) have a roommate getting married at the same time my lease runs out. I love God's timing! Today we all dressed alike (on accident), so we decided to take a picture.

Me, Brooke & Julie - They are so fun!

And Sarah & Jeff have started a blog - it's the link section. Visit it & see their exciting news!!!

We Finished!!

I am so excited to say that the half marathon is over! I don't have much to say, other than it was hard. Very hard, but I feel a very big sense of accomplishment. Dad ran with me, Deborah was supposed to, but she had to go back to Oklahoma to avoid the ice storm. Mom walked it and finished not too far behind me. She was amazing! Lisa & Kyla finished too - a good bit in front of me. Here's some pictures to summarize the experience!

Me & Lisa at the expo

Deb the morning of the race. Before she had to head back to Oklahoma.

Me & Lisa before the race.

Mom & Dad before the race.

Me in the car after the race...I finished!

I don't have any pictures from during the race. I think Shawn took some, so I'll post them when I get them!