Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day friends and blog readers!

We feel so blessed to celebrate our love today with a set of keys to our new home.  We love each of you very much and are very grateful for your role in our lives.  Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Big News!

We have some big news.... We're buying a house!!!  A lot of you probably know this by now, but I still  want to write about the last few weeks so we can remember this process.  The Lord has been so faithful to direct and provide for us every step of the way.  I love being able to look back at times when the Lord's provision has been so apparent.  It is comforting to look at life and know that He has provided before, and He will do it again.  This is one of those seasons I know we will look back on and be reminded of God's faithfulness.

This all happened really fast.  We met the man who owns the house we're renting over the Christmas holiday for the first time.  We had communicated by email as he's on a work assignment in Brazil, but had never met in person.  While he was over, we started talking about the upcoming months and his plans.  Our lease will expire at the end of May, and he wasn't sure if he'd be returning to Houston and need his house back or not.  He mentioned he would let us know in the next few months.

So, we decided to start looking at the housing market so we'd be prepared if we needed to move again.  After crunching some numbers, we decided we'd prefer to go ahead and buy a house rather than lease again.  We started doing some research online thinking we'd be ready to buy in the next few months.

Well, a few days into our "research" we found a house listed online that was down the street from the one we're in now.  It had been totally renovated, was in an area we clearly like, and was in our price range.  We got in our car at 9:00 that night and drove down the street to see it.  It had just come on the market.  There wasn't even a sign in the yard.

I called the listing agent on my way to work the next morning, Wednesday, January 9.  They told me that the house already had three offers on it.  I asked if it was too late for us to see and and put an offer in.  They said as long as they had our offer by the end of the day, they'd consider it.  So, we called the realtor we'd worked with last summer when we were looking for our rental.  She was leaving town the next day, but was available to show us the house that afternoon.

We met her after lunch and really loved the house.  Every surface had been redone... new dark hardwood floors, granite counters, stainless steel appliances with tags still on them, beautiful tile, bronze hardware and fixtures; all the colors and finishes we would have chosen if we had been renovating the house ourselves.  I was still pretty skeptical at this point that we could get everything we needed to in order so fast.  JW was pretty convinced we weren't going to find something this perfect again and that we needed to move on it.  So, we talked to our parents, who were all unanimously supportive and encouraging, worked with our realtor and a loan officer who rushed our approval for financing, and put in an aggressive offer about 10:00 that night.  We gave it all up to the Lord, praying that only if this was His will that our offer would be accepted.

We got a call before 9 a.m. on Thursday saying that the sellers had accepted our offer.  Our realtors were on their way out of town.  But, we worked with them long-distance and met with our loan officer, who may be our favorite person in this whole process, and signed the contract Friday afternoon.  By Saturday we were under contract!  Wow. Scary, but exciting!

We had the house inspected the following week, where of course we learned all kinds of things about our 1959 house.  That was overwhelming.  We prioritized the repairs we wanted done and sent our request to the seller.  They agreed to our list, and now we are only 10 days away from our closing!

We'll do a final walk through to inspect the repairs that were made next week.  We are also still working on researching and choosing home insurance and a home warranty and negotiating our way out of our current lease.  But, we're almost there and can hardly wait!

This whole process has been a roller-coaster and a whirlwind.  Sometimes I still can't believe we are doing this.  It has been emotional and draining, but we feel so blessed.  JW and I have learned (and are still learning) to work as a team and to be diligent in challenging things to make sure we continue to make the best decisions possible.  We are also learning to trust.  To trust that God is sovereign and faithful, and that He's got it all under control.

Home ownership, here we come!  Let the adventures begin. :) 

Post-Christmas Celebrations

Our celebrating didn't end on Christmas.  The Roush's drove down to Houston the day after Christmas to stay with us for a couple of days.  It was so great to spend time with them!  This was their first time to see our home in Houston.  We went out to dinner the first night they were here with some of their other Houston friends and went to look at Christmas lights.  The next day the boys went to the new Top Golf in Houston and me and Meg went to Harwin for some bargain shopping.  She got a cute new Baylor scarf that she's wearing in the picture below. 

Every year, JW's family goes to see a movie while Uncle Teddy is in town.  It worked best for everyone this year to do that after Christmas.  Our house is pretty central, so we offered to have everyone over for pizza before the movie. 

Nana and Papa- Aren't they the cutest?  I love this picture.

Uncle Teddy's first time to meet Cason

Jennifer and Sarah

Then, that weekend we drove up to Montgomery for Jenn to get baptized at her church there.  It was really special to get to celebrate that with her.  Starting this year, she is working for the church part time with the youth.  It was very cool to see all the kids come up and hug her after the service.  She is already very loved and going to make such a meaningful difference in students' lives.

After the service, Jenn had us over to her new house for lunch.  She made yummy tortilla soup with cornbread and dessert.  We all left there very full.  It was special to get to be there with her.

And, to wrap up 2012 we spent New Year's Eve over at the house of some new friends from church.  Aaron and Marianne host the community group we were a part of in the fall, and we have loved getting to know them.  Here's a picture of just the girls from that night.

2012 was a really great year.  Looking back at all we had to celebrate, we feel humbled.  We are thankful for the blessings and opportunities given to us and look forward to a wonderful 2013.

Christmas Celebrations- part 3

On Christmas morning we got an early start. We celebrated Christmas as our little family at home before heading over to my parents' for Christmas morning with them. We waited to put toys and bones for the dogs in their stockings on Christmas morning since we didn't think they'd survive the night if we put them out the night before. Dakota was so cute just laying beneath them trying to be patient. She'd get up and pace a little, and then come right back to her spot to keep an eye on them. Just like a little kid with anticipation. They're so smart.

JW did a great job wrapping, didn't he? :)

 

Real cowboy boots!  So excited.

Ok, please overlook the wet hair and warm up pants.  This is not the most flattering picture, but hey, it was early!

My aunt has these boots and I tried them on while we were in Dallas over Thanksgiving.  I fell in love with how comfortable they were, and I've worn them a lot already.

 

I wrapped boxes inside of boxes and put golf balls in there in order to throw JW off.  He's always shaking and trying to figure out what his gift in before he opens it.  He didn't figure it out this time.

 

Finally to the last one.  I gave him a Groupon for a helicopter lesson where he'll learn to fly a helicopter and then get to go up and try it with an instructor.  This is sort of a joke because JW always teases that we just need a helicopter to get around this big city and to avoid the traffic.  He's an adventure seeker too, so this should be fun.

 

Then, around 8 a.m. we headed over to my parents' house to do Christmas morning with them.  With little siblings, Christmas morning is always pretty eventful and exciting.

JW got a scarf in his stocking and put it on.  Leaning in that chair we decided he looked like a model.  I may be in trouble for posting this picture. :)  My favorite gift was a black leather jacket from my parents.  I had started thinking I wanted one of those, but hadn't told my parents.  They just picked it our for me and it is great!  Totally my style and I've enjoyed wearing it a lot already.

Next stop was Montgomery to see JW's dad's family.  They were hosting Joe's family at their house for Christmas dinner.  It was great to see the whole crew, and we played a fun dice game called Left, Right, Center.  Then, we stayed out there to open gifts with them after everyone had left.  Christmas day is also Matthew's birthday, so it was fun to be able to celebrate that with him.

 That big, ugly, garbage bag wrapped birthday present for Matthew is a poker table top he can take with him back to college for guy's night.  Don't judge my wrapping... it was huge and heavy!

We got home with big smiles on our faces from a fun day, but were excited to sleep in the next day.  Celebrating is tiring!

Christmas Celebrations- Part 2

We spent Christmas Eve celebrating with Momma Hance and her family.  We met in Sugar Land for an early movie and lunch.  Then, we headed back to Momma Hance's house to exchange gifts.  She got us a beginners handgun class and a CHL (concealed handgun license) class.  We gave her a family photography session, so soon we can all get family pictures made.  She's been talking about doing that for some time.  I think it's pretty neat we got each other activities we can do together.  I think as we get older, we appreciate experiences together more and more.

 I even got pink ear protection! :)

Then, we met for the Christmas Eve service at Nana and Papa's church.  It's always fun to have the whole family together and to see Uncle Teddy who comes in town from Boston.  After church we all go over to Nana and Papa's for dinner, singing the Twelve Days of Christmas, and presents.  I just love spending time with this family.  There is always a lot of laughter involved.

This weekend we got to do our beginner's gun class.  Momma Hance had a guy come over to her house to teach us and then we went to the shooting range for the first time.  We all ended up being a pretty good shot!

Then, today we went to take the CHL class and took our test.  My dad even met us for this since he's been meaning to get his.  We all passed!  It was a lot of fun.  Definitely a skill I am glad we have.  Who knows, going to the shooting range may be a new family hobby. :)

Not Fair

My heart is heavy this afternoon.  I attended a funeral today for a family friend from church- a strong 40 year old Christian man who was a husband and daddy to three precious boys, the oldest of which is 16 years old.  As the slide show of pictures played before the service started, I found myself crying and thinking that this is not fair.  It's not fair that he was in a severe car accident before Christmas that resulted in him having several surgeries in order to save his arm.  It's not fair that his family thought everything was going to be okay, and then on Friday morning he fainted in their closet at home.  It's not fair that he died due to a blood clot relating to his accident they think.  It's not fair that his wife and three boys have to go through loosing a husband and father so young.  It's not fair that his parents outlive their son, and that his three sisters loose their only brother.

There is a great article written about Bryan here.

It is a blessing that in God's perfect timing He allowed Bryan one more Christmas with his family.  It is a testament of the life he lived for God's glory that the sanctuary was full today; full of old teammates he used to play football with and all of the people whose life he touched.  There is hope because even in this, God is sovereign and will use this for His good.

As we begin this new year, I am struck by the truth of my pastor's message on Sunday.  He preached about life being a gift.  We don't deserve and are certainly not guaranteed one more day on this earth.  Life is a gift that God gives us freely.  Pastor Curtis challenged us to pray about what God wants us to do with it.

The last couple months, we have personally been surrounded by a lot of tragedy.  Our pastor in Waco, Mike Toby, passed away from brain cancer after being suddenly diagnosed a few months ago.  A work friend of my dad's passed away this week from health issues.  My college room-mate's husband is battling very aggressive cancer for the second time in his short life of 30 years.  They have a one-year old daughter.  A co-worker's sister was pregnant with a baby boy and due on January 10.  Over the holidays the baby passed away in-utero only a couple of weeks before her due date.  Another one of my co-workers lost twin grandbabies when her daughter went into pre-term labor at 20 weeks yesterday.  And, a third one of my co-workers' brother slipped and fell over the holidays and is in a coma he is not expected to wake up from.

I don't understand it and can't begin to fathom the grief these families are suffering.  But I do know and believe, "that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, and who have been called according to His purpose." - Romans 8:28

My devotional today was about hope.  Hope in the Lord is the only thing that brings light into this kind of darkness. "God is our refuge and our strength, an ever-present help in trouble.  Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea." - Psalm 46:1

Please join me in praying for these families; that God would fill them with His strength and His peace.

Christmas Celebrations- Part 1

We like to celebrate a lot around here, as you know if you've read our blog or known us for any length of time.  We also have a pretty large family, so the week of Christmas was filled with a lot of celebrating with everyone we love.  To kick it off, we hosted my dad's family over at our house for Christmas dinner on the 23rd.  Papaw and Denie came up from Galveston, and Aunt Kimmie, my parents, and siblings came too.  Taylor even drove in straight from Lubbock to start his break at dinner with us.  We had never had Papaw, Denie, and Kim over to see our house, so that was fun.  And, since I love to cook and entertain it was the perfect excuse.

You're all dying to know the menu, right? :) 

Appetizers:
Baked Spinach and Artichoke Dip with pita chips
Baked Apricot Brie with crackers

Dinner:
Orange Glazed Pork Tenderloin
Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Green Beans
Balsamic Glazed Carrots

Dessert:
Mom's Pecan Pie
Aunt Kimmie's Banana Pudding
Cheesecake

It's always a good time when we're all together.  We missed Grandma a lot, but know she was looking down from heaven and laughing along with the rest of us. 

Here are a few recipes I used.  Many of them were new and turned out great.

Baked Spinach and Artichoke Dip

adapted from Southern Living Christmas Cookbook

Ingredients:

• 2 (6-oz.) packages fresh baby spinach
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 (8-oz.) package 1/3-less-fat cream cheese
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• 1 (14-oz.) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
• 1/2 cup light sour cream
• 1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
• Fresh pita wedges or baked pita chips

 Directions:
1. Steam spinach in
2. Melt butter in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add cream cheese and garlic; cook 3 to 4 minutes, stirring constantly, until cream cheese melts. Fold in spinach, artichokes, sour cream, and 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese; stir until cheese melts.
3. Transfer mixture to a 1-qt. shallow baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese.
4. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Serve immediately with fresh pita wedges or baked pita chips.

Baked Crescent Roll Brie

This one I adapted from Pinterest and a version of this I'd had before.  It's super simple and delicious.
Ingredients:

• 1 can crescent rolls
• 1/2 - 3/4 cup apricot preserves (or any other preserves you'd prefer.  Cranberry would have been great too.)
• chopped pecans or walnuts
• block of brie cheese

Directions:
Unroll the crescent rolls all in one piece on a baking sheet.  Press together the perforations to form one piece of dough with no breaks or tears.  Spread the preserves all over the crescent roll dough and sprinkle with either pecans or walnuts.  Place the block of brie in the middle of the dough and fold the edges up over the top so that the brie is covered.  Pinch together the dough to seal.  Place in the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes until the crescent roll shell is golden brown.  Serve warm with crackers.

Orange Glazed Pork Tenderloin

courtesy of South Living Christmas Cookbook

(I used a 5 lb. roast, so doubled the recipe)

Ingredients:

• 1 (3-pound) boneless pork loin roast
• Vegetable cooking spray
• 1 1/2 teaspoons coarsely ground pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup orange marmalade
• 2 tablespoons Creole mustard
• 2 teaspoons fresh or dried rosemary
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can fat-free reduced-sodium chicken broth
• Garnish: fresh rosemary sprigs

Directions:

1. Place roast on a rack coated with cooking spray in an aluminum foil-lined shallow roasting pan.
2. Rub roast with pepper and salt.
3. Heat marmalade in a microwave-safe bowl at HIGH 10 seconds or until melted. Add mustard and rosemary, stirring until blended. Brush mixture over roast.
4. Bake at 375° for 1 hour or until a meat thermometer inserted into thickest portion registers 155°. Cover with foil; let stand 10 minutes. Remove roast from pan, and cut into slices; cover and keep warm.
5. Sprinkle roasting pan with flour; place on cook top, and cook over medium heat, 1 minute, whisking constantly. Add broth, and cook 5 more minutes, whisking constantly or until mixture thickens. Serve with sliced pork. Garnish, if desired.

 Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

courtesy of The Neely's
I doubled this recipe to serve 10-12.

Ingredients:

• 1 head garlic
• Olive oil
• 2 pounds red potatoes, washed well and quartered
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 5 tablespoons butter
• 3/4 cup heavy cream

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Slice off the very top of the garlic head. Drizzle head with olive oil and wrap in foil. Place on a sheet tray and bake until tender and fragrant, roughly 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool. Remove the cloves and mash with a wooden spoon.
Place potatoes in a large stockpot and cover with cold water. Add salt and bring to a boil. Cook until fork tender and drain. Mash the potatoes until smooth.
Meanwhile heat butter and cream until butter melts. Add the roasted garlic and potatoes and mash all together.
Taste and season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately

Balsamic Baby Carrots

courtesy of Southern Living
I doubled this recipe to serve 10-12.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups water
• 1 pound baby carrots
• 2 large shallots, thinly sliced
• 1 medium-size red bell pepper, diced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
• Garnish: fresh Italian parsley sprig

Directions:

1. Bring 3 cups water to a boil in a 3-quart saucepan; add carrots, return to a boil, and cook 4 minutes. Remove from heat; drain well.
2. Sauté shallots and bell pepper in hot oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat 3 minutes or until crisp-tender. Stir in carrots, vinegar, and next 3 ingredients, and cook 4 to 5 minutes or until liquid is reduced and vegetables begin to glaze. Remove from heat; stir in chopped parsley. Garnish, if desired.

December Recap

Since I am playing catch up and wasn't able to post most of the month, here are the highlights from December so far.  The first weekend of the month, we had a reunion couples retreat through the ministry we did our premarital education through.  Gary Thomas was the speaker that weekend and focused on marriage being something that was designed to give us the opportunity to deepen spiritually and not just to make us happy.

 

They hold this retreat at a really neat conference center just outside of Salado on a lot of land.  It's so serene and was nice to get away.   We enjoyed exploring the property in our free time.

 

 It was beautiful.

Megan, Kaleigh, and me

We also enjoyed getting to spend time with friends.  Rich and Megan, who we first met in our premarital education class and are now some of our best friends got to come too.  I didn't take any pictures, but Saturday night we went into Salado for their Christmas Stroll.  They have vendors that set up all along main street downtown.  Two words... kettle popcorn.  Yum!  We had a great time walking through town seeing all of the lights and the live nativity scene as well.

December 7th was my mom's birthday.  JW and I went over to my parents' house to hang out with Claire and Hunter while my dad took mom out to dinner.  We decided to bake her a cake while they were gone.  Unfortunately, due to a goofy silicone bundt pan, the cake didn't turn out so well.  It tasted pretty good, but was pretty much a disaster.  Oh well!  It's the thought that counts, right? :)

Beautiful momma; not so beautiful cake...

And, last weekend we drove up to Dallas for our annual family Christmas celebration with my mom's family at G-Ma's house.

Sibling picture.  They are lots of fun.  It's always a good time when we all get together.  Highlights this year were that the girls actually had some "steals" in our white-elephant gift exchange, and we played a fierce game of Spoons.  Typically the girls are polite and don't steal each other's gifts while the boys max out their number of steals on several gifts.  This year we got a little feisty.

Aunt Millie came to the party sporting a couple of band-aids on her fingers from Spoons injuries she got the night before.  She also came with a deck of cards in her purse, so we played after dinner.  It was intense and a bunch of fun.

Me and Grandpa

We stayed with Shay and Adam while we were in Dallas that weekend.  The pups came too and had a great time with Rye.  They wore each other out and were good buddies by the end of the weekend.

Pretty sad that I have a picture of all our dogs, but not one of all of us humans together.  

Shay took our Christmas card picture for us Saturday morning.  It turned out well and we are so thankful she helped us get it done!  We had such a good time and kept trying to talk them into moving to Houston one day. :)  We'll see.

 

Today is Hunter's birthday!  He is 10 years old.  

 Me and Hunter

We got to go to his party this afternoon at a place full of trampolines called Sky Zone.  Dodge ball, basketball dunking, jumping into a foam pit... every boy's dream!  My big kid of a hubs had a great time too.

It's starting to look like Christmas at our house.  We are getting all of our last minute shopping done and preparing to have Christmas dinner with my dad's family at our house on Sunday.  I am looking forward to having everyone over!  JW and I are both not working next week, so it will be a nice break. 

Don't you just love Christmas?  It's definitely my favorite time of the year!

Better Late Than Never

It's been almost a month since my last post!  Where has the time gone?  I've had this predicament with my google memory being full, so Blogger wouldn't let me upload any pictures.  Thus, until I had time to work on a solution, I haven't wanted to post.  I was able to open a Photobucket account to upload pictures to, and think I've got it figured out for now.  Whew!

So, I have a lot to catch up on.  First stop... our Thanksgiving holiday!  I was able to take the whole week off of work which was really nice.  Shay was in town at the beginning of the week, so I got to spend some time with her which was fun.  I also got a lot of things done around the house and marked off of our perpetual to-do list.  It was a nice break! 

Thanksgiving morning I woke up and made this yummy Pumpkin French Toast (recipe below), and we watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. 

Then, we spent the day at Momma Hance's house. She hosted her family for a big Thanksgiving meal.

Three generations of women



Sarah and Hoffman came with their sweet baby Cason.  He was definitely the star of the show.  So cute!



I was making fun of JW for wearing shorts and flip flops on Thanksgiving and he was giving me grief about wearing boots and a sweater with it being 70 degrees outside.  Houston weather!  You just can't win.



The family



Momma Hance gave Max the ham bone and it didn't even last 20 minutes.  Poor Calamity just followed him around licking up the scraps.



Then, on Friday we drove up to Dallas to celebrate with my mom's family.  It was fun to have everyone all together.  We don't get to do it very often since we live in different cities.  We had dinner as a family on Friday night and then played Apples to Apples.  It was quite fun!

Never a dull moment with this crew... back scratching train!



Saturday was the Baylor vs. Tech game at Cowboy's stadium.  We have a family divided with Taylor and our cousin, Matt, at Texas Tech and me and my cousin, Erica, as Baylor Bears.  My mom wore both schools since she loves us both equally. :)



Sibling rivalry

One big happy (yet divided) family!

It was a fun day.  The Bears pulled out a win in overtime so it was definitely exciting, and I sure didn't mind throwing a bear claw in Taylor's face at the end of the game. :)

We drove back to Houston on Sunday and stopped to see Joey's dad's family for lunch on the way back.  It was a great Thanksgiving filled with time with the ones we love. 

Pumpkin French Toast

Author: Minimalist Baker

Prep time: 10 hours 10 mins

Cook time: 40 mins

Total time: 10 hours 50 mins

Serves: 10

 Sweet and spicy pumpkin french toast is made the night before for an easy, early-morning preparation.

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 - 4 1/2 cups 1-inch bread cubes (depending on type of bread)
• 7 large eggs
• 2 cups milk (any kind)*
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1/4 cup pumpkin BUTTER (or 1/2 cup pumpkin puree)*
• 3-4 tablespoons brown sugar for topping
• nuts, like pecan or walnuts (optional)

Instructions

1. Cut any kind of bread into 1-inch cubes - I recommend a crusty, whole grain variety, but sandwich bread will work, too. Just use enough slice to fill a lightly greased 9x13 baking dish quite full.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, vanilla, pumpkin butter and pie spice until well combined. Pour over bread and push down with a spoon or your hands until it's all soaked and mostly covered. Cover with saran wrap or lid and refrigerate overnight.
3. In the morning, preheat oven to 350 degrees, uncover and top with brown sugar, additional pumpkin pie spice and nuts (optional). Bake for 35-45 minutes or golden brown and no longer wet.
4. Serve immediately with maple syrup, honey or agave nectar. Store leftovers in the refrigerator covered for up to a couple days.

Note:

* If using pumpkin puree instead of pumpkin butter, it's important to compensate the flavor by adding a bit more puree, pumpkin pie spice, and a little agave nectar, brown sugar or maple syrup to the batter. Otherwise, it will lack that delicious fall, pumpkin flavor you're going for.