It's Been Too Long

Hello Blog!!! It's been far too long. It is obvious I've been on a blogging hiatus of sorts. This hiatus was not purposeful, but it just happened. I've really missed blogging. You may have thought I had given up on the whole blog thing, but I am here to assure you that I have not! There have been tons of things going on in our life. I have tons to share. So, here is a recap of the last couple of months.


1) I passed my teacher certification test that I took in February! I had studied for a long time- longer than I ever did in college, but was still really nervous about passing. I had to wait a few weeks and then found out that I passed with flying colors! It was a really exciting day for Ryan and I. After I found out I passed, I began to apply for teaching positions.

2) Ryan and I celebrated our first Valentine's Day as a married couple. My sweet husband took me to a restaurant called The Woodlands in honor of my hometown The Woodlands, TX. My favorite part was dessert- we got to make s'mores! Us at Valentine's Day Dinner

Ryan making his s'more

And me eating mine

3) My mom came to visit in March. It was so good to see her and we filled up her weekend while she was here. My mom and I and my favorite restaurant in town- City Cafe

Us with my mom at the airport before she left

4) My whole family (minus my brother Michael, who is in the Marines) came to visit for Easter. We had a lot of fun and a busy weekend! It was really good to see them, but we had a full house! My parents, brother and his girlfriend (now fiance-more on that in a minute) came and stayed in our little 2 bedroom, 2 bath duplex. We were definitely tight, but I was so glad they came. The whole family on Easter Sunday

Me and my hubby

Me with my parentsMe with my youngest brother, Kalen

5) I went to Austin for a Destino (the Hispanic movement of Campus Crusade for Christ) conference and to see some wonderful friends in April. It was a great break for me and a wonderful time to connect with some really close friends. I left feeling encouraged, refreshed, loved and loving Austin- I would move there in a heartbeat!!My sweet friends I got to spend time with in Austin- I love these women!!

6) I got called in April for a job interview at a charter school. A charter school provides an alternative to other public schools, but are still part of the public education system. Most charter schools provide a certain area of specialization, and this charter school focuses on the fine arts. They have grades K-11 right now. I went to my interview and it was less stressful than I had anticipated. I had prepared for all the tough "teacher" questions- "What is your teaching philosophy?", "What are your strengths and weaknesses?", etc., but the interview was so much more conversational. At the end of the interview, they asked me to step outside while they discussed a few things. When they called me back in, they told me that there were some good things and some not so good things about hiring me. The good things are that they believed I would fit well with the school and the mission of the school, but the not so good things were that I did not major in any of the subject areas. They told me that it would be taking a risk to hire me, but they were willing to take it on me and see how I do my first year. So, I got a job!!!! I will be teaching 7th grade science at Vanguard Academy starting in August. I couldn't be more thrilled at the opportunity to work there. It is an incredible school with such wonderful support from the Administrators and I believe a wonderful environment to begin my first year of teaching in. After my interview I got in my car and just cried because of God's incredible kindness to me. The blessings that are attached with getting this job are too many to count! I praise Him because of His faithfulness to me. Ryan and I went out to eat to celebrate the big news!

7) On the same day that I got a job, my youngest brother Kalen asked his girlfriend, Lindsey, to marry him. They will be getting married sometime in 2011. I can't believe he is old enough to be getting married!!! It was definitely an exciting day in our household.

8) After I got the job, Ryan and I decided to buy a house. We know we will most likely be in the Valley for at least 3 more years and once we knew we would have the second income, it felt like the right time for us to do that. We knew this process needed to be quick- our lease ends June 30th and if you close on a house before June 30th, you can still get the big tax rebate. The house hunting process has been harder, longer and more disappointing than I expected. We currently are on our third house and are waiting to see if our offer is accepted. The first house we made an offer on was wonderful, but they would not negotiate very much. After many days of negotiating back and forth, we decided to accept their counter offer. Right before our real estate agent turned in all of our paper work and the earnest money, we found out there was an HOA (Home Owners Association) fee that would put our monthly payment just too far above what we wanted/needed to spend. It was God's grace that we didn't lose our earnest money. The second home we found, our real estate agent went to turn in our offer and we found out that the house had just gone under contract the day before by someone else. So, now we are on house #3. On each house before #3, I would envision how I would decorate it, what things we would want to fix, etc., but this time, I can not go there....not yet, at least. The two houses before felt like big losses each time because I had already seen us living there. This process has been incredibly hard and it definitely has tested my faith. I am choosing to trust the Lord has good for Ryan and I and that we are in His care. Sometimes, that can be harder than it sounds. We know God has the perfect place for us out there, it just may not happen in the time or the way we would like it to. We may not close on a house before June 30th, and there are some disappointing things about that, but we are choosing to trust God in the midst of that. I will keep you posted on the news.

8) I celebrated my 25th birthday!! Ryan's parents came into town for the birthday celebration. Ryan had told me that we were going to go over to his cousins' house for a small family get together for my birthday the day before my actual birthday, but I had no idea that I was walking into a huge surprise party with all of our friends here in the Valley!! It was incredibly sweet of my husband and his family to plan such a fun time for me- I felt so loved and special. When I walked into the party, I was totally surprised and just cried because of how loved I felt.Ryan's parents at Which Which before the party for a little snack

Ryan and I eating at Which Which too

At the party with our friends the Martell's. We are so thankful for their friendship!Us with the Moore's, baby Karsten (who belongs to the Martell's), and the Coronado's. Each of these people make our time in the Valley so special. Ryan's cousins, Jesse, Judy and Amanda, and Ryan's mom, ElizabethMe with baby Karsten- he is the sweetest baby!

Me with my mother-in-law. I was so glad she was there!

Ryan and I with Erin- we just missed her hubby Dante!

Us with our good friends the Robinson's. We were so glad they were in town and love them!

Us with our fellow Aggie, PatrickThe beautiful and yummy cake- it was a Marble cake :)

Mmm...it was delicious!

Us with our good friends the Kirby's.

Me and Baily- I'm so glad I know her!

Me and my sweet husband. He is the absolute best and worked soo hard to make me feel special. I love him!!!

On my actual birthday, Ryan took me out to eat at Johnny Carino's for dinner

This was the dessert- an apple crisp with ice cream :)

9) We went to The Woodlands to visit my family, celebrate my birthday late with them and to go to a wedding. It was a great weekend. It's really fun to have 2 birthday celebrations- it means 2x the cake!

Ryan and I at the birthday dinner with my family at Pappasito's (my favorite Mexican food restaurant!)

Kalen and his fiance Lindsey

My sweet parents

Cake #2- it was German Chocolate and was fantasticWe went shopping and out to eat at Panera Bread- another favorite. Here are the boys.And the girlsI also got to see my good friend Kara while in town. We met at our usual place, Starbucks and caught up for a couple of hours. She is moving to Singapore soon, so I was so thankful to be able to see her!I also went to a wedding while in town. It was great to see old friends from my time at A&M. Courtney, on the left, was my date since neither of our husbands could join us. It was really fun!Courtney and I also got to hang out with Sandi at the wedding. Sandi, Courtney and I spent lots of time together at A&M and it was great to all be together again!

Well, now that you are all caught up on the Hall's and their life, I must go work on dinner. Thanks for being patient with me during my hiatus. I promise it will not be this long until the next time I write!!