decisions, decisions, decisions...

Well it looks like i fell through with my promise on keeping my blog updated... it looks as though another month and half have past without me blogging! My goodness, time flies when you're busy. Let me catch you up on a couple of things...
As many of you already know, Brain and I moved back down to Texas in January after living in NY for 6 months because of a job in San Antonio. We were excited for the opportunity and we were happy to see our old friends. This job presented many opportunities. It was however a temporary government position at Lackland AFB. We knew it wasnt permanent but knew more opportunities would arise from it. His contract was with the army for 1 yr 1day... this would put us at Feb 2011, and the job could possibly extend. Well last week the army called in the 16 guys that were under contract and told them that not only was the army not extending their contract past Feb, but they were getting laid off in Sept 2010 due to lack of funding on the governments behave. So needless to say, it's been a whirlwind of emotion. I think we were both in shock to think in 2 months Brian would be jobless. We were thinking how were we going to pay for our house, cars, food, etc... it's a scary feeling not knowing. Brain immediately started looking for jobs... he thought about possibly doing private contracting and go to Iraq or Afghanistan. He also thought about moving back to NY.... well God was on our side and an amazing job opportunity presented itself for a position in North Carolina. Yes, i know this means completely uprooting our life and moving yet again (this will be 3 times in less than a year.) Sometimes in life you have to take chances, and with the economy the way it is, we have to take this chance. Well there is a small detail that goes along with the job, but we aren't for sure about it yet. We have to iron everything out first before we are willing to share it with everyone. All i know and pray is that God guides and protects us on this journey. I hope this new job is as great as ever. I hope the area is beautiful and the people are amazing. I just want to be settled already and not moving every 6 months.
With this move, I would have to uproot everything I have in San Antonio as well. I would have to leave my job, my school, my friends, and most of all my family in houston. I know I will be able to find a new job and school but it's hard losing the friends and family that have been through so much with us. It's just so bittersweet. We are exciting and are embracing the new journey we will be embarking on but not without sadness. Just keep us in your prayers that everything works out the way it's supposed to.
There are lots of decisions that must be made and must be made fast.... I will keep yall updated. We should know exact dates hopefully within the week, along with all the details.

April Showers, Bring May Flowers

Our new place has an amazing patio/Terrace you walk through before you get into our apt. Well it has been plain jane boring since we've moved in. Well B and i thought it's about time we plant some flowers and just "spruce" it up a bit! We finally bought a new patio set, and it definitely made it look "somewhat" better out there.... but it just didn't "POP" like i wanted it. So, B and i went to the nursery to buy flowers and plants. The only problem... our patio does not get ANY direct sunlight. We face North and the sun just goes over us.... so that presented a tad bit of a problem when it came to our selection of plants and flowers. It was so frustrating because all the pretty flowering plants need SUN... Ha go figure! Well after much contemplation, we settled on geraniums, impatiens, caladiums, and ferns.

We bought all the pots, dirt, watering cans, plant food, the whole shabam... well silly me, forgot that our railings are a little odd and the hanging planters would not fit. darn! Thankfully, Brian is mr handy man and figured out how to make it work! (After an entire container of zip ties later...)

The plants are planted, the flowers are watered, we have our patio set in place... BUT it just didn't seem complete to me! Well I love to shop and I found the little something "extra" our patio needed... I wasnt too sure how B would react with my little "completion" items, but I bought them anyways! So here is our Patio now... I am in LOVE with it now!! Impatiens

Geranium

Fern Caladiums

^--My little "Stacy-Touch!" hehe...

and B actually loved the animal print too!

yay! I think it totally just made our patio!! love it!

New toys and a whole month has passed!

So, it's Mid-may and I haven't written in over a month! I know crazy, right?! Well, B and I have just been busy busy busy. Work is going great. Brian just got a new truck. Crazy to think he actually parted with his beloved yellow jeep wrangler, but he DID! The jeep just wasnt practical, nor was it comfortable to ride in. He got a 2010 Black F150 Raptor. I even love it! I still haven't mastered driving it yet, but it will come one day! lol. Brian also recently purchased his first gun. ahh. Let's just say, I am still not fond of having a weapon in our house, but I trust all the training B has and I just hope the gun stays in it's little plasic box unless it's at the range. hehe.

The boys are doing great! Sad that we are constantly working, but they have adjusted well! We took them to play in the blue bonnetts and they had a ball! Here is a pic of them!

Hope everyone has had an amazing month! I promise to try and keep our blog more updated!! :)

There is a Season for all things...

In the bible it's say "To everything there is a season and a time for every purpose under Heaven."
(Eccl 3:1-8)

This scripture has truly weighed heavily on my heart the last couple of weeks. I'm not sure if you all know about my dear friend and her story with her precious little girl, Alyssa. Last year, August 30, 2009, she gave birth to a little miracle baby at 27 weeks. Alyssa weighed 1.1 lb and was 8 in long. She was born with trisomy 21 (down syndrome), and she was just perfect and beautiful in every way. She was with us for 11 days before going to Heaven to be with our Lord Jesus. It was so hard for anyone to understand. We kept putting our faith in the Lord, knowing HE has the plan. Danielle is one of the most amazing people i know, and it broke my heart to see her so broken. Well, she found out she was pregnant in February, and we couldn't be more excited. She went in for a routine ultrasound and found out she was having Twins... well that following weekend, Jesus, had a different plan. He called the tiny babies to heaven to be with their sister and play in God's beautiful Garden. Again, it's so hard to understand why. After so much, why did Danielle and Jamie have to endure even more? I was angry and heartbroken for my bestfriend. But, she- out of all people, pointed out to me that God knows what He is doing and He will do what is Best. She finds comfort knowing Alyssa is now in the presence of her siblings in God's loving arms. Just please keep them in your prayers. They are amazing and deserve every happiness in world.

Not even a week later, another one of my friends found out she lost her baby as well. She too went in for an ultrasound but there was no longer a heartbeat. It truly makes you question why things happen the way they do. But, you have to know that God is in control and although His plan might not be clear now, one day it will. We must trust in the Lord.

I was listening to KLOVE, which is a Christian music station here in San Antonio, today. They were talking about the importance of Easter. As we know the importance of Good Friday and of course, Easter Sunday, we rarely talk about the Saturday in between. They were talking about how Saturday is just as important because it was the day that everyone prayed for Jesus. No one knew what was going happen, they were just left to wonder, hope, and Trust in God that Jesus would be resurrected.

A lot of people are in a "Saturday." Meaning, they are waiting for God to make something happen. For God to speak, For God to make things clear. Although, we may not understand why things happen the way they do, we must TRUST in our Lord! He will make things happen the way they are supposed to. As faithful servants we must abide by and live by His word knowing all things are possible with HIM!

Please continue to pray for Danielle, Jamie, Ben and Taylor. God has a plan and I pray they find the comfort in thy loving arms of our one and only, Jesus Christ. *Much love*


Love this song... I highly recommend listening to it, if you haven't heard it before!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"My Redeemer Lives" Nicole Mullens
Who taught the sun where to stand in the mornings?
And who told the ocean you can only come this far?
And who showed the moon where to hide till evening?
Whose words alone can catch a falling star?

Well I know my redeemer lives
I know my redeemer lives
With all of creation testifies
This life within me cries
I know my redeemer lives!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*


*If you would like to read more about Baby Alyssa's story, http://preggoeggorford.blogspot.com/

*The foundation that is in the works in Alyssa's Memory, http://holdmyheartfoundation.blogspot.com

*Video of Alyssa, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lr4J_GM-DSU

Wishful Wednesdays!

Check out Kelsey's blog! It's absolutely adorable!!

This weeks wishful wednesday is...

"I wish... I could wear/could have worn ___ dress on my wedding day"

(single/or married can play!)

I love lace, bows and anything with frills! These are definitely some of my favorites! Although, I am sure when I actually get married my taste will be completely different! lol

Flowergirl

Bridesmaid

Top 2 Tuesdays!

Top 2 Tuesdays!

Names!!

Congrats to Taylor and Ben on the new little addition due to arrive 10-10-10! (And Tay, I totally dont think that's a weird date haha! Kinda awesome actually!)

1. Girl- Which I better have a girl bc heaven help me with a boy... lol! He will be decked out in pink and lace! Just ask my boy dog! lol

As for names... Brian and I both love the name Emma Faith. It doesn't have any family meaning, it's just adorable in my opinion. My second choice is Elizabeth Grace, but Brian is not a fan! lol

2. Boy- Brian and I both like Logan Mattew or Brian likes Logan Michael... but I refuse to ever have a kid named (Logan )Michael Jordan... lol. My favorite favorite boys name is Jacob Christopher or Jacob William. Christopher is a strong name in B's fam, and William has a strong family history in my family.

But, Kids are definitely far far far in the future but it's still fun to think about! hehe ;)

Girl

Emma Faith

Elizabeth Grace

Boy

Logan Matthew

Jacob Christopher

New job, Training, and Recipes!

This week has been crazy crazy busy! I started training on monday for my new job! yay! Buuut... boy am I beat! I am on a computer for 5 hrs straight of web based training, then I have an additional 4 hrs of in class training. I am on massive information overload! It's fun though! I also have my school work I have to keep up with as well. I am having to miss these two weeks of class for training, but life is about sacrifices. I am so fortunate to have wonderful Professors that are understanding as well! I am truly blessed!

I feel so bad for our poor pooches! They are in their cages all day, till brian gets home at 330! =(

Brian just started his online classes to finish his Bachelors degree. From the moment he gets home from work, he is on the computer doing his school work. We are both busy busy. I know all of the sacrifices we make now will pay off in the future. It definitely is exhausting with both of us working full time and going to school full time. It's the moments like this that make you feel so fortunate to have eachother and to have the love of our Heavenly Father knowing our life is taking shape. I just hope our doggies understand! lol! You know it's bad when they hear my high heels clink on the floor and they run to their cages because they know I'm about to leave for work. lol They still love us! I guess we will just have to make it up to them by taking them to the dog park every weekend! haha!

With us being so busy with work and school, we are scrambling to have dinner on the table at a decent time. I get off at 5 pm everyday and by the time I get home it's roughly 530 so it's a race against the clock to have dinner ready by 6-630. If anyone has any fast and yummy recipes PLEASE SHARE! I'm running out of recipes... ah! lol

Here are some more recipes from my cookbook! Feel free to try them out!! :)

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Homemade Lasagna

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1 package Lasagna noodles

1 lb hamburger meat

2 jars spaghetti sauce (I use Prego Meat)

1/2 pint ricotta

1/2 pint cottage

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

grated parm cheese (Kraft)

Cook Lasagna noodles according to package. Drain and rinse with cold water. While noodles are cooking, brown hamburger meat in pan. Drain excess grease and add 1 jar spaghetti sauce. Stir to mix. Combine ricotta and cottage cheese together in bowl. In a 9x13 pan, pour 1/3 jar of spaghetti sauce on bottom of pan to cover. Layer: noodles (approx 3) to cover bottom, top with hamburger mixture, spoon about 4 tablespoons of ricotta mixture and spread flat. Sprinkle mozzarella and parm chesse on top. Continue this layering process until all ingredients are used or until you reach the top of the pan. The top layer should only consist of meat sauce and parm cheese. Cover with foil and cook in 350* oven for 1 hr or until bubbly!

Serve with Salad and garlic bread!

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Crawfish Etouffee

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1/3 c vegetable oil

1/3 c water

1/3 c margarine

1 c diced onion

1/2 c diced green bell pepper

1 Tbsp minced garlic

1 lb peeled crawfish

1/2 lb peeled shrimp without tails

2 cans mushroom soup

2 stalks celery

1 can original rotel

1 Tbsp dried parsley

1 tsp cayenne pepper

salt to taste

Melt margarine and oil in pot on stove. Saute onions, green peppers, and garlic until translucent. Add crawfish, shrimp, and water to onion mixture and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Simmer for 30-40 minutes. Water can be added to thin as desired.

Serve over steamed rice.

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Caramelized Baked Chicken

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2 boneless/skinless Chicken Breast

3/4 c Ketsup

3/4 c Honey

1/2 c Soy Sauce

3-4 cloves of garlic- diced

Cook all ingredients, minus chicken, on stove top. Bring to a boil- reduce to a simmer for 10-15 minutes until thick. Put chicken in a baking dish and pour half the sauce over chicken, set additional sauce to the side. Cook chicken 35-40 minutes at 350* until juices run clear.

Serve over steamed rice and pour heated remaining sauce over top.

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Texas Style Chili with BIG Flavor

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1.5 lb ground beef

1 can chilibeans in Medium sauce

1 can diced tomatoes w/oregano and basil

1 can original rotel

1/2 can (6 oz) tomato paste

1/2 large onion chopped

2 stalks celery chopped

1 green bell pepper chopped

1 can green chiles- medium/hot

1 1/2 tsp bacon bits

2 cubes beef bouillon

1/4 c beer

2 Tbsp Chili powder

1 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 1/2 tsp minced garlic

1 1/2 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp hot sauce (tabasco, etc)

1/2 tsp basil

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp white sugar

Cook in crockpot for 5-6 hrs

OR

Cook beef on stove, drain excess grease. Add remaining ingredients and simmer over low heat for at least 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

Serve with fritos and shredded sharp cheddar cheese

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