Oh, Teddy

Kyle and I have been battling allergies/major allergic reaction (to who knows what!) with our new little pup, Teddy. Within the first few days of welcoming him into our home we took him to the vet to get started on all of his puppy shots. Great! We are ready to have all three rounds of shots over with, so we don't have to worry where he goes or who he is around. 

The past two weeks though he has been all out of whack... The poor little guy has had a swollen chin, nose, eyes, and lymph nodes. Last week he was on antibiotics, which worked wonders for the swelling, however, he was very bloated and never wanted to play. This week, we are through with the meds, but the swelling is back. He had blood tests last week to be sure it is nothing major we need to worry about, which he checked out negative for everything, so we do know it is just allergies. 

Now for the fun part, to figure out what the heck is causing this. Could it be the laundry detergent we washed the towel and blanket with that he sleeps on, maybe the weeds outside, food, chew toy...it could be anything! 

This afternoon I worked from home to stay with Teddy after giving him Benadryl to make sure he would take it ok. All he wanted to do was sleep in my arms this afternoon while I sat at the table and worked. Very whiny, but gosh who cannot resist loving on this dog. We feel so bad for him. 

Since getting a dog we have had a sneak peak into what parenthood will be like years from now. Things like do you pay the extra money to have blood tests run?? Absolutely!, working from home, waking up at 2am and 5am to let him out, potty training. 

Dad taught him to lick the water in the shower. Bad.

Oh, he's a joy and we wouldn't have it any other way. He brings so much laughter to our evenings together. Get well soon Teddy!

Teddy's favorite part of the night, studying!

Back to Blogging! LONGEST Post Ever!

So my thoughts of holding myself to stepping out of the box and trying something new (blogging!) was short lived, but I have been wanting to get back into it! So...Happy February, we have much to catch up on.

First, meet our new love Teddy. He is an eight week old Rat Terrier, and quickly becoming attached the the other male in the house. He knows who his daddy is. Oh Teddy, he has brought so much fun, laughter, and might I say parenting experience into our home (and I mean we now refer to ourselves as mommy and daddy when we speak to Teddy...). We have wanted a puppy for a long time, but it just seemed like no time was the perfect time. Well, there was no time like the present, so we pulled the trigger.

I made the mistake of going to the puppy store (please don't judge us) in the mall after returning a Dillard's purchase for Kyle. Mistake number 1...I was literally depressed for a week. I saw Teddy and his brother and instantly fell in love. They were both going to be coming home with us (I wished, but am so glad that didn't happen. Potty training TWO puppies, yeah right!). The next week, one night after dinner I finally convinced Kyle to go see the puppies. I thought either he will fall in love and bring them home, or they wouldn't be there and I would have closure. Wrong. Mistake number 2. We went, and both left depressed. Skip a few depressing days to MLK day, probably the most beautiful day of the year, and we had the outdoor itch. It so perfectly worked out that we needed to make a trip to the mall to buy a gift, and it just so happened we wondered back in to that darn puppy store. Teddy was still there. After coming home and weighing the pros and cons of a puppy, we split ways, and I went to pick up our little one while he went to get all the puppy necessities. It was the perfect day outside with our new puppy.

 He is adjusting really well, but I am ready for him to be more self sufficient. I HATE leaving him in the crate when we leave for work in the morning, and when I have to put him back up after lunch. He needs sunshine and play! Hopefully in a few weeks he will get to stay outside. Ok enough of our little man for now.

Teddy's first ride through Chic-fil-A drive through. The Lady at the window even  gave him a treat!

For an update on Kyle and I, we have made new plans for us and our future. As we have gone through the past eight months of marriage, things have changed, we have changed, and our wants have changed. All good change! We are only improving upon our original "life plan". We are constantly reminded of how we do not direct the paths of our lives, but we want to actively pursue and seek out where the Lord wants us. In doing this, through much prayer and seeking advice, Kyle has deiced to forego a PhD for now, and seek a career in beef cattle nutrition. His thinking is that work experience will be so valuable when seeking a career, and he is ready to put the books aside for a while. I can't blame him. This is good change, and we are excited to see where we will end up. He has wonderful connections and is continuing to meet others in his field. Kyle also had his first job interview today, and it went great! He has the potential to do whatever it is he wants, but it's a matter of him really deciding in which area of his field he would like to be in, and waiting for the right door to open for us. 

I have recently been working towards obtaining my teaching certificate to teach health at the middle/high school level, and I am also becoming certified as a generalist 4-8 teacher, meaning I could teach any of the core subjects for those grades. This is a new thing for me, but I am excited for this! I have a wonderful job right now that has been perfect for me, but everyday I have a longing to be in the health field and to make a difference in others, and teaching allows me to pursue that. I had my first day of subbing this past week, and it was in a 7th grade health class. A perfect first sub job. The kids were really great for me most of the day and I was given a positive perspective on teaching health. I am committed to working on this throughout the semester to prepare to hopefully teach in the fall. This is perfect timing for me to do this as Kyle will be working on his thesis this Spring (If you call at night, you can count on us spending quality time together at the kitchen table doing work...but please call :) )

For someone who has always been one to find change "earth shattering", I have been needing for a few months now to be reminded of the little everyday joys God reveals to us. Often I get so wrapped up in all the big decisions (and trying to make them all work out perfectly all by myself) that I forget to  take a breath sometimes. I am learning to trust the Lord in all of this more than ever before, and I am learning that Kyle and I will never get these early months in marriage back. I have started a writing down one thing each day I am thankful for and putting it in a mason jar (ok a spaghetti jar--- and I have to give credit to whoever posted this idea on Pinterest). This has been great so far. Kyle has even put a few in. 

Alright, so back to blogging. I look forward to hopefully keep this up this time!

New Car!!

As many know, we have been on the search for a new car the past two weeks. It's been a little stressful  trying to find something that would fit our budget and meet our standards at the same time. With that being said, we are so excited about our new purchase! This was by far our biggest decision together yet, and we are feeling good. We are so thankful to both our families and Matt Martinez for all of their support and advice during this process. After a long day of driving to Fort Worth from College Station, driving around town to find a car, we finally found it at our last stop. This is not a place we had planned on visiting, but we sure are glad we stopped! Here it is...!!

Pearlized gray 2008 Ford Escape!

 The proudest new owners!

Even though we had to go back to College Station the same day (more driving!), we were glad to be able to stay a while longer for a warm bowl of chicken chili with my parents and grandparents, and catch some of the Aggie football game. Bring on the next big decision...!

Can you say...homemade? I went to a girls craft night Friday, and we made fall wreaths out of festive napkins and grapevine wreaths. Let me just preface this by saying I had no idea what a grapevine wreath was. On my lunch break Friday I ran to Wal Mart and bought the only wreath they had...an undecorated Christmas wreath. I thought surely if this is all they have, then this must be what I need. Wrong! You can't turn Christmas into fall. My Sunday school director generously gave the clueless girl her extra. Thank you!
This is not perfect, but I was impressed with myself for trying.

We also made magnets! 

Just a little fall fun.
Pumpkin bread and a new fall candle are making this dreary Sunday little cozier!

The Fragrance of Fall

Here's the difference between the way girls and guys think...

While watching the rain over the weekend and enjoying the cool fall weather:

Me: Doesn't this weather just make you want something pumpkin??

Kyle: Why didn't we buy a pumpkin at the grocery store?

Me: No, like pumpkin bread or Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte. Mmm, or something apple...

Kyle: I can go cut you an apple in the kitchen.

Me: No, like apple pie or apple crisp... that warm cinnamon apple goodness that fills your house with the fragrance of fall.

We obviously have different perspectives on our feel goods for this season. Nonetheless, fall has officially arrived, and we are enjoying soaking up this wonderful weather. I love the smells of spice in the fall, decorations, leaves changing colors, and football!

This past weekend Kyle and I went to our first Aggie football game of the season to watch A&M beat Arkansas in the rain. There were lot's of great highlights from this game! 1)Sweet revenge after losing to those Razorbacks three years in a row in Arlington, 2) Great friends and old roommates, Katie and Chelsea,  came in town for the game and we met for dinner after, 3) Kyle was showcased in a video clip on the jumbotron for his work as a grad student in the animal science department and for the scholarship he is receiving through an Aggie who is generously giving back. We appreciate him!!

Just an update to what is going on with here with us as we bring in this fall season. To hit the major points, we are currently looking for a car. This is NOT a fun process for me! Almost a month ago Kyle and I were in a wreck (not our fault) in the intersection of Texas and University leaving my car totaled. Here's a picture of the scene that night. The damage may not seem too bad (my car on bottom), but the air bags deployed, which made the car too expensive to repair...

So many other things could have gone far worse, but we are so thankful for our God looking after us that night. Looking for a car can't be that bad in the grand scheme of things, but when you don't plan on making that purchase, it puts on the pressure.
Kyle is deep into his project for his masters' degree, and things are going really well for him, just early mornings through November. He is doing a great job! Last night he went to spend the night with the steers for 'round the clock sampling.

The last big thing for us this fall is I got a job as a research assistant for Texas A&M Transportation Institute. I know, I know, you are thinking transportation?! Actually, the research we are doing is extremely interesting and applies to the future of the American economy and the forms of transportation we will see implemented. I am in my second week, and am trying to beat the steep learning curve I stepped into when I walked in to the office. Taking each day in stride.

That's how we do things in our home, we take each day in stride. We are into our fifth month of marriage and figuring things out together each day, learning together and growing together. 

Love Makes the World Go 'Round

I married my best friend and husband almost four months ago (wow how time has flown already!), and I thought it would be fun for us to document our journey of our first year of marriage. Better late than never! No one said this would be easy, but here we are, learning from each other, living life and every season it brings, and loving daily. That's something worth writing down! Together we are growing closer as a couple and individually through every change and challenge that may come our way. I am so blessed to be able to spend these times with Kyle, who is brilliant (yes, brilliant), witty, oh so caring, a hard worker, and 100% Aggie through and through. Gee, I'm a lucky girl! What's not to love!

Ahhh, love!

I am excited to post when I can. I think I am surprising myself that I am even going to attempt to keep a blog. I am the last to open up, keep a journal, show and share emotion. In these past four months I have had time to reflect on myself and the rich life I have lived, have learned a lot about who I am, and one thing I have decided to do is step outside the box. Try something new, challenge myself. So, I might as well jump in and give it a try. Sink or swim, right?  Here we go...