The Super Bowl Comes to the Cowboy's Stadium

This year, the Super Bowl was in Arlington. All of the media coverage was done from downtown Fort Worth. Clint really wanted to go check it out and see what all they were doing. It was actually fairly boring. But we could see into the set of ESPN and they had some stuff out that was interesting. We took a picture in front of the big Texas that had a football coming out of it. I'm really not sure what it meant but I think it was just celebrating football...in Texas.

We hung out downtown for a few hours, then we headed to the Pier 1 building. If you have ever been to downtown Fort Worth and noticed a huge building with top of it lit up, then you have seen it. It's hard to miss because the lights at the top are really bright. In front of the building they have a walk way that goes all the way around it with trees lining the sides. At Christmas and (I guess) when they are hosting the Super Bowl, they light the trees out front. It is really beautiful.


We told them just to act goofy and this is what we got.

Stephanie and I decided to jump. Stephanie has mad skills and I could barely get off the ground. The thing is after this, everyone was giving me a hard time about not being able to jump. In order to prove them wrong (and to show what a klutz I am) I ran ahead of them and tried to jump higher. Well, that didn't happen so instead I fell on the ground. It was the hardest fall I have ever had. It was one of those that went on for awhile, like I tried to catch myself but my head was in front of my body and I couldn't regain my balance. Not pretty.


I look like I haven't even left the ground. Meanwhile, Stephanie is taking up the whole picture! I don't think pregnant women were meant to jump. Something keeps up grounded.

Early February Snow Daze

I am catching up on posts I should have done last month so please forgive me. The beginning of February brought snow and ice with it. It was a wonderful break from work (and school for Clint). I know we set lots of records for all the low temperatures, the ice and the snow. Our month's income definitely suffered but it was a lot of fun just getting to hang out with friends and enjoy the different weather. Here are Clint, me, Brad, Stephanie and Claire. We went out the school that is near our houses. They have a football field so the dogs enjoyed sliding around while trying to catch the ball and eating snow off the ground. We thought about Cherry a lot because she loved the snow.

What a cutie. The snow almost hit her belly! This is from last year when we had a ton of snow.


In order to make the most out of the weather we decided to go sledding. We made it a competition to see who could make the fastest sled. Clint and I with our game faces on. We were team Goggles (hence the goggles).


Clint trying out Stephanie's sled. Hers was the best out of all of them. Unfortunately we couldn't find a good place to sled but Clint was brave and tried a few places out for us. In the end, we grabbed the dogs and went up to the school again. Good times!

Ski Trip 2010

Without further ado...Ski trip 2010!! We were very happy this past year that we were able to go on one last ski trip before baby M makes his/ her debut! When we made plans to go, I wasn't pregnant but we talked to Clint's dad and he gave me the okay as long as I took it easy. I was only able to ski one day. (And it was tough even then. I almost had to call ski patrol because my lungs and legs didn't want to cooperate. But luckily I had some good friends to encourage me!) We made some great memories with some good friends!

"Oh man, that was a loooooong drive here...."

"But I'm so excited!!"
The whole gang at Keystone. There was: Andrew Sullivan, Brad and Stephanie Barham, Clint and I, Joanna and Colby Brownlee, Claire and Daniel Townsend. (Two of our group had already bailed. Kaylann and Austin. They were dealing with a broken wrist.)


It was cold. Really cold. We all ran outside in our t-shirts so we could experience below zero temperatures. (Except Clint, he grabbed his jacket. Fuddy- duddy as we say.)

At night, we just hung out and played games. This is Daniel recreating a fall that Clint had when they went to take out the trash. The parking lot was pretty icey the whole time. The poor Vibe had a hard time on it. So did Clint.

My brave husband on the last day. Bundled up!!


And this is why he was brave. He took a picture of one of the billboards warning people to be careful.

It says the high was 6. No, apparently it never made it there. The high ended up being around 4 and that was in town. Not on the mountain! Yikes!!


And we got to celebrate New Years the last night! That was a lot of fun to get to do that up in the beautiful mountains! Everyone was really tired so it was pretty subdued but fun none the less.


All the girls!



Last but not least. The reason we enjoy skiing and don't mind driving so far. God is in the mountains. What a wonderful and amazing creation He has made. For us.





It was a great trip! And now, one of these days, we get to take our kids up there and show them the majesty of God's creation.

Those Eyes...

As many of you know, our sweet dog Cherry is gone. We had to put her down January 3, 2011. I will always have a special place in my heart for her. I had totally forgotten that I had posted about her back in December. (See Dog Breath.) It turns out that bad breath was caused by something much worse than tartar or tooth decay. The vet believes she had cancer of the kidneys and probably went into full renal failure about a week or so before. It was unexpected and devastating. She was Clint and I's first dog and only animal before children. For that, she is special to us. We did everything we could with her from vacations to just strolling around the neighborhood. I thought I would post a few of my favorite memories with her.

Bath time. Cherry hated it. But it was fun for us because she would run around the house like a mad woman. She would jump all over the furniture and get her wet hair on everything. I think she did it to spite us. She was quite ornery.

We took her for lots of walks. She hated water most of the time but when it was really hot she would start looking for it. She drank a lot. When she happened on this puddle on a really hot day she just went ahead and sat in the water while she was drinking it. It was pretty funny.

Cherry also hated Duke. He was loud, high energy and playful. All things Cherry couldn't stand. If you look closely, Cherry (who weighed 48 pounds) is taking up most of the backseat while Duke (who weighs about 80 pounds) has a very small space to fit into. This was on the way home from Abilene so Cherry would go to sleep and Duke was just stuck standing there the whole trip. He tried to go to sleep but he couldn't get comfortable because of Cherry. It was pretty funny.

This was the only time Cherry ever (voluntarily) swam. Like I said, she hated water. This was on another one of our long walks on a hot day. It was probably high 90's that day and we had walked probably 2 miles or so. We were at the Trinity Trails so we decided to take the dogs down to the river so they could get a drink. Before we knew it Cherry had gotten in and was taking laps. She would swim and drink at the same time. Eventually, she got out and just sat on the shore. But that was a great memory because we had tried to get her to like the water the whole time we had her.

Well, it is the end of one chapter in our lives and the beginning of a new. I have mourned for Cherry, who she was in our lives and in our hearts and also for the life that we had with her. She represented our early, independent life together. Now, we begin a new chapter. I'm excited about it and look forward to it very much. But I will always have a special place in my heart for her and those sweet beginnings.

Basking...

The laundry is folded and put away.

Dinner is prepped and ready to be cooked when Clint gets home.

Kitchen is clean and counter tops are reflecting the setting sun on their shiny surface.

Floors are all swept and cleaned.

Only have a few more gifts to buy for Christmas but other than that everything is done.

Basking....

Dog Breath

Ahhh!! I can't believe it's been almost two months since I have updated my blog!! I am awful.

Okay, got that out of my system. Well since I have neglected my blog, I guess I better update before I get to why I titled my post "Dog Breath".

This month, we attended my cousin, Eric's wedding. He is my oldest cousin on either side so I don't know him as well but he is an amazing guy and has found a really neat girl. I'm excited for them as they start a new chapter in life. I've stayed busy knitting too. I have lots of gifts and things that I'm excited to show off. One of them I made for myself.

I love this pattern and am making it for one of my sister in laws right now. I think I might try selling a few of these but I'm not sure right now. I'm so busy with other projects for now that I'm afraid! Maybe next month while it's still cold, I can do it. We'll see.

So my title is really kind of silly but if you have a dog you might understand. For others you will wonder why the heck I'm even bothering talking about it. I have never been one to get all weird about my dog. I love her and she is definitely part of our lives but I'm not going to go out and spend tons of money on her or anything. Well, the other week I was petting Cherry and noticed her breath was awful. Like she had gone outside and eaten a dead mouse, it was soooo bad. I called our vet here and asked how much it would cost to get her teeth cleaned and a few hours later the receptionist sent me an email with the break down. $440 for the whole thing!!!! Yikes!!!!! I couldn't believe it! Well anyway I called the vet mom uses in Robinson and it was half that. Unbelievable. I never thought I would ever pay to get my dog's teeth cleaned. Ever. But here I am. I don't know why I will spend it now. Maybe because Cherry is a part of our family? Maybe because before I had never had an animal I was so attached to? Or maybe "city life" has gotten to me. Either way, Cherry goes to the vet at the end of the month for some serious debridement (deep cleaning). Dog breath is sure to improve.

October's Goings Ons

Goodness! It's been awhile since I updated! Obviously, it's been a busy month. Let's see what has been going on...

Clint finished his super busy surgery rotation and is currently working on his family medicine rotation.

I'm staying busy watching the kids during the day and various activities at night.

Some of our good friends, Lindsay and John McKinney, moved to Tyler. We will miss them!

Kara, Clint's sister, is pregnant with their second child. So excited for them!

The Rangers are in the World Series. Mom has gone to two post season games. Clint is jealous.

Jenna Lane had her baby. So happy and excited for them!

Began a new small group at church over the book Heaven by Randy Alcorn. Awesome book!!!

Began singing with a group at a local hospice center. It has been a real blessing.

I am doing Threads of Love. Along with other women who make different things, I knit hats for premies in the NICU at local hospitals.

I recently made bread and graham crackers from scratch. Both turned out pretty yummy.

I got to see Jaxon (Bobbi's little boy) about 2 weeks ago. It was great to catch up with them.

What I've read: The Hunger Games trilogy (2 thumbs up), Dirty Sexy Politics ( 1.5 thumbs up),
The Glass Castle (2 thumbs way up), The Help (2 thumbs up) and Twelve Might Orphans (1 thumb up). I think that's about it.

Well, I think that pretty well sums up October. I can't believe how fast this year has gone. It's been great though. We love Fort Worth and the people we have met here are wonderful. I still can't believe Clint is in his third year. One more year to go and then he begins residency. He would never say this, but I think he really impresses the doctors he is with. Clint tells me the compliments he gets from them. The last doctor he was with told him he was a great student and will be a great doctor and even asked Clint if he wanted a letter of recommendation from him. This guy went to Harvard medical school and is a well respected surgeon in Fort Worth so it meant a lot coming from him. Clint loves interacting with patients and trying to help whenever he can. I know he is going to be great. Okay, enough bragging about Clint! I'm just so proud.

God has really changed us these past 3 years. We know that with such great blessings comes a call to responsibility. Something that stays on our minds. We don't know where God will put us in the end but we know wherever we go, that serving others is what it is all about.