September Bliss

Me and Justin needed a weekend away so we ventured to Spicewood and enjoyed quite a relaxing weekend! Justin went dove hunting and sighted in some guns while I sipped coffee and finally watched some Big 12 football. We stayed in the house my Memaw grew up in (its been redone) and learned a lot about my heritage while visiting with my great aunt and uncle, Honey and R.E (they live in a house built in the exact spot my great great grandparents homestead was.) I learned I can apply to be a daughter of the Republic of Texas because my grandmothers grandpa died in the battle of Goliad!

We started our Saturday with a beautiful walk through the pasture and up to my Memaw and Papaw's land. Justin was kind enough to hold my coffee while I took this darling picture of him.

Then we grabbed some lunch at Opies B-B-Q. We ordered an enough meat for an army-it lasted 3 meals! Then it was off to the Exotic Zoo in Johnson City. I had already been there and have been wanting Justin to go so we took seized the opportunity.

  There was an axis deer that kept following Justin around in the petting zoo pen and a baby goat that kept headbutting Justin's fist. That was all cute but didn't compare with the brand new axis deer we saw enjoying some morning milk. It was awesome!

On Sunday we went to church in Marble Falls and ate lunch at the famous Bluebonnet Cafe. In all these years Justin had never been there!

And this is a view from the back of the house. What a way to wake up!

The arch way in the picture was built by my Papaw Despain (my grndmother's dad). It was not there when the original homestead was built but was built, we approximated, between 1920 and 1944 when they moved to Marble Falls. Inside the house are old pictures of my Memaw and her sisters standing in front of the arch. What a neat thing to see still standing. I have an incredible family and loved visiting with Grannie and Memaw and Papaw. Weekends like this leave us wanting more!

Summer fun

I haven't updated in awhile so I figured it was about time, much has happened in our little world this summer! Just to let you know now, this is a long entry, but oh so interesting so keep reading! We kicked off the summer at the annual Fry fish fry at Aunt Pat and Uncle Mike's house. We love stollin' through their property, the pictures just never do it justice. And then we were blessed to get the whole McCoy clan together (immediate fam) ,with the exception of Kylie's crew, for some quality time before everyone's schedules got nuts.

Me and Justin were blessed to get to visit with our friends Kylee, Cheyenne, and Ferron Jean when they came to town to run a 5k with me about 1 month ago. I was a bit out of shape but it was worth it for a good visit with Kylee Jean! They're going to move here someday, they just dont know it yet :)

Justin finished our media console table and despite his concerns about it not being perfect, our TV now has a home and I love it!

 We also had a an unfortunate series of events regarding our ongoing car situation, Justin was in an accident. Luckily he is alright and it only involved one other vehicle...who was at fault by the way. So, we've been carpooling to work for the last 2 weeks. Not a big deal except that I work the opposite direction from his work so he drives an extra 40 minutes everyday. But I gotta say, its been nice to ride to work together, what a great start to my day! And to top it all off, we didnt have AC for three days about 2 weeks ago! Its doesnt sound too bad but try sleeping without AC, it was rough. We decided for the 3rd night we would get a hotel. We picked up a pizza, cranked the AC, and went to bed early...it was awesome! And we even got a good breakfast and coffee for the road to work the next morning!

On a more positive note, we got to visit with the Smiths when they came up to visit a few weekends ago. We went to the Rangers game and then went to a zoo-like place called Sharkarosa. It was hot but well worth it! There were baby kangaroos, baby zebras, and we even got to pet a baby lemur.

My sister and nephews got to stop by and meet us as Bass Pro Shop by our house on their way in from visiting Texarkana. Nathan and Tate wanted to go "hunt" for Justin in the store (he was helping some buddies buy a gun) so we ventured through the whole place and when they finally found him they were so excited! I think its going to be fun having them around this year!

This summer has been fun but I am ready for some more of it! Justin and his buddies are running in a Mud Run 5k this weekend and next weekend we get to go to the lake with my fam! Crazy but its the first time to the lake this year, how sad is that!? Casey and Christie will be in town and Kylie and the boys, bring on the fun! Hope you enjoyed my update, I'm sure this is only remotely interesting to family but I just wanted to keep those I am not fortunate enough to see on a daily basis updated on our lives!

Bluebonnet season

Me and Justin have been busy busy lately it seems. Justin was blessed to be a part of a friends wedding in Corpus Cristi in March which, I wont deny, we sort of counted as a mini vacation. While I was the only girl in a carpool of 3 boys, I gotta say it was a beautiful scenic drive from Dallas to Corpus and I thoroughly enjoyed the goofy company of Justin and his buds, (one who was visiting from Indonesia). The wildflowers were out in full bloom and the hotel we stayed at had an ocean view...it was sweet! That weekend however my Dad had some more heart issues and it got scary for awhile. But his heart doctor did some minor surgery and fixed everything and he is doing great now, what a blessing!

A few weeks later we got to go to the country with my parents and enjoy the bluebonnets of the hill country in Spicewood. The boys processed some deer sausage while my mom and I visited with my cousin at her wedding shower in Marble Falls. Later that day we had dinner with the McCoy side and met the new cousin, sweet little Abigail, Carrah's new baby! I am so lucky to have such great family.

More recently I got to visit with my friend from Abilene who was in town visiting some family. We were able to sneak away and have a relaxing lunch. What a fun surprise! And we are planning on running a 5k this summer, so yay for some more friend time! My other sweet friend visited a week or so ago from Austin and we had a good visit too. Shes getting marriedin June and I'm so happy she found the love of her life!

My mom was able to come stay with us on my days off last week and it was great to just visit, relax, and get a few things done. My brother is in town for work and we all went out for BBQ one night and then were treated to Red Lobster another night! Me and mom potted one of my plants, ran errands, did some speed racer shopping, and then did a lot of nothing...it was great! Currently Justin is at the Fry men's annual fishing trip and Im cleaning house, what a joy! Ive got a brunch with my BSF group tomorrow and have a list of "to do's" so I better get  back to work!

update

Alright, so those promised photos of our house and our finished products might be a while longer. I gotta figure out how to load pictures to the computer from my new camera. SO, here's a quick update, if you care to know, of whats been going on in our lives:

1. car broke, carpooled to work for a week (2 1/2 hours of driving for Justin each day), fixed the car
2. the other car broke, rental for a week, fixed the car
3. started to finish our tv console table, circular saw broke, project postponed
4. visited new churches on and off for awhile just to conclude we might oughta stick where we were

Now on to the positive!!
 1. we finished a shelf that now has all our photos displayed across our living room wall
2. we had a Super Bowl get-together and ate lots of cheese dip, and yes, eating cheese dip was exciting enough to add to the list
3. Justin placed his first client (thats his job but its harder than it sounds- he places Accountants in careers) within the first month of starting!
4. we both felt "wooed" by God this past Sunday to finally attend a church we might call home
5. both cars are now running!! Thanks to my precious, did I mention awesome?, parents
6. I get to visit my good friends in sweet Abilene this weekend and its Sing Song, shouts to AKO and Galaxy
7. Justin got me a very unique and pretty blue topaz necklace for Valentines Day- he really is the most thoughtful husband and I'm so blessed that he chose me
8. we have broken our puppy dog of using the couch (she reverted back during the move) via the "scram mat"- it beeps when she jumps on the couch
9. we have plans of taking a little trip together here in the next couple months (any thoughts of cool places in OK or AK close to the Texas border?)
10. And lastly, Justin will be going on a canoe trip with his best friends in mid March

God has been working through the support we've received from family lately and in major ways in our search for a church home. No matter where we go or what we do, God, through so many things lately, is taking care of us and revealing his mighty power. I am so blessed! And come back to our  blog when Ive got some photos up!