The Bachelorette

So I caved and am watching The Bachelorette. I have vowed, however, to not get as sucked in as I did with The Bachelor. So far, so good. There have definitely been some weirdos this time. And I have a few favorites. Kirk, Chris L. and Roberto. Kirk is at the top--he is just so smooth, but not in a creepy way. {Just to make this completely clear: None of them come to close to trumping my man. Love ya, babe!} They are traveling around the world this time and one of the stops was Iceland. Even though I am sure it is SO cold, it looks like a cool place to visit. I came home telling Nathan that I might want to add Iceland to our travel list!

By the way, have you seen all the tabloids? Jake and Vienna broke up. So sad, but everyone knew it was coming.

Soccer in San Antonio

With all the buzz about moving to Germany, I forgot to post about our weekend with my family! We went down on Thursday night after Nathan got off work and had until late Sunday afternoon. The drive there was SO long, but we took the 130 toll road on the way back and got to skip all the Austin area traffic. It was fabulous!
Pretty much all we did all weekend was watch the World Cup and hang out at the house. Well mostly Nathan watched the World Cup. I was not quite as dedicated and slept through the 6:30am games. I think Nathan might have made a soccer fan out of Mom though. She texted me the other day to say she was watching the USA game : ) We threw in a trip to the mall, a movie, a visit with Grandma, and some good meals. Mom and Dad, the two silliest jokesters, had soccer-fied the living room, complete with streamers and soccer-themed plates, cups, hats, and hackysacks. All we were missing were vuvuzelas. Too bad I forgot to take pictures!
We watched this special on Hitler at Grandma's house. It was pretty interesting. Did you know he had Parkinson's? Anyways, we saw this hilarious commercial for binoculars that can magnify 1000%! Isn't that unbelieveable?! We were laughing SO hard! Dad said you could look all the way around the world to the back of your head with those!! Ahahahaha!

Spoke Too Soon...

Nathan was told yesterday that his class in Mississippi will now be from Sept. 13th to Nov. 11th. That should make packing/moving and visiting our families before we leave much easier. Goodness, those two months are going to suck being apart from each other. Hopefully we will get in a few weekends together. Fortunately, Mississippi isn't as far this time as it was the last time he was there : )

Auf Wiedersehen, America!

We found out yesterday that we are PCSing (moving) to Heidelberg, Germany in December! We are so extremely excited and, at the same time, so extremely nervous. We weren't necessarily surprised; it was our number two spot. But up until now, it hasn't felt the least bit real. Actually, even now it doesn't seem that real. We also found out that Nathan won't be going to class in Mississippi until Oct. 4th. (Great news!) He finishes up there Dec. 9th, and then our report-no-later-than date (when we must be in Heidelberg) is Dec. 16th. So quick! That means I will have to do all the packing/cleaning. (Mom, aka Queen of Packing and Cleaning, I am serious about you coming up here for at least a weekend to help me!) The only bad news is that Christmas here (on Dec. 25th anyway) is pretty much out of the question. Something we will have to just wait, see, and deal with later. Nathan is a little nervous about his job. Apparently no one is really sure what he will be doing. He will be working with the Army, but the chances of him being deployed are very slim. It's possible that he will be getting guys ready to deploy--making sure they have their gear and such. He will be really good at that. He is great at knocking things off a to-do list. Where I am weak, he is strong : ) The assignment is for 3 years, but if Nathan gets a slot in the grad school for Air Force weather in Monterey, we could only be in Heidelberg for 2 years. Years, though! It's still blowing my mind. I lived in Oxford for 3 and 1/2 months and that was great fun, but I remember being ready to come home to see my family at the end. And eat some good Mexican food! This next step in our lives is going to be the most bittersweet of anything we have ever experienced. On one hand, we have this completely awesome opportunity to live overseas and travel Europe while we are young and childless. Yet, we will be leaving all of our family, friends, and things we hold familiar/comfortable. I just keep reminding myself that God is going before us. And that it is only a relatively short period of time. And that we will be able to fly back or have family come visit. We aren't completely falling off the face of the earth, mostly thanks to computers. We have Facebook and can email or Skype. Oh, and one great thing is that we will be close to Sarah so I can see her again! So... yeah... still in shock. Not exactly sure what to expect. There are so many things we could stress about, like where I will work, who we will be friends with, how much we will be able to come back to the States, and on and on and on. We are just praying right now for God to be our Provider, as always. You could pray for us too : )

Thy Word

I need to read the Bible more. I resolved last night to turn over a new leaf. Finally. I have thought off and on for years about how I need to have a "Quiet Time." I am not very good at keeping a routine of any kind, but reading God's Word is way too important for me to shrug off. So starting today my goal is to read the Bible every single day.
And today, while entering the songs of the service on Sunday, I was typing in a unison reading they will be doing from the old hymnal. The emphasis in the worship songs is the Word of God, so that is what the reading is on. It spoke to me. Or I guess I should say God spoke to me. Mostly confirming what I have decided is necessary for me to do. I typed it below.

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God,
and is profitable for doctrine,
for reproof, for correction,
for instruction in righteousness.

That the man of God may be perfect,
throughly furnished unto all good works.

Being born again, not of corruptible seed,
but of incorruptible, by the word of God,
which liveth and abideth forever.

For all flesh is as grass,
and all the glory of man as the flower of grass.
The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away;
But the word of the Lord endureth forever.
And this is the word by which the gospel is preached unto you.

The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul;
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making the wise simple.

The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
The entrance of Thy words giveth light;
it giveth understanding unto the simple.

For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword,
piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow,
and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my Strength and my Redeemer.

Weiner Point

This weekend was great! It started on Thursday night (a little early, but that's how we roll around here...) with Bunco at Chaile's. We had some new girls that were fun and I won the roll-off for most wins. My prize was a decanter. I have been wanting to get one, or five, for a while but it's kinda low on my purchasing priorities right now. So I was ecstatic!
Friday morning I wasn't feeling too well, so I came into work late. I read my emails right away and saw that we were having a mandatory meeting with Tom in the Business Office at 2:45pm. I was a little nervous, thinking we were in trouble. But it turned out Tom had Happy Belly's italian ice for us (delicious!) and gift cards. Everybody got something different. Mine was to a restaurant called Razzleberries. I have never been before but I hear it's good. Nathan's not too interested since it's a sandwich place, so I will probably use it with the girls. After that, I went home and made dinner. When Nathan got home, we ate and watched "A League Of Their Own." I had only seen parts of it, never the whole movie. I liked it. Tom Hanks is hilarious in it. On Saturday I woke up early to go to the lake with the girls and John. Nathan had to work. Boo. Allison house sits a couple's lake house pretty often and they are out of town for a month right now, so we took Alex's uncle's boat out there. We had a minor accident with Alex driving the SUV with the trailer attached, but everything seems fixable. The land that the lake house is on is called Weiner Point. And do you know what occupation every single one of the lake house owners there hold? Urologist. Not a joke! So hilarious!! We had a great time out there. It was a little too windy to tube, so we just hung out near the dock. I got a pretty good burn on my shoulders, but it's healing up really fast. I left a little early with Jacklyn so I could make dinner before Nathan got home (he's always starving when he walks in the door) and when he came home, we ate and then watched "Mrs. Doubtfire." Again, a movie that I had seen parts of. I hated the ending. And the beginning. But it was pretty funny in the middle. I slept in on Sunday and then skyped with Sarah for a little bit. {Miss her.} Then went up to church to make sure everything was ready for the pizza dinner for Middle School Choir Tour. Then it was back home to cook, clean and read. Nathan came home after dinner for a little while before hockey and we just ate and talked. So good. I painted my nails and cleaned my closet while he was gone. And then it was more good times when he came home.
Thursday night we are leaving for San Antonio. It will be a weekend of watching the World Cup and just hanging out. Oh and eating lots of bean and cheese tacos at Taco Cabana and huevos rancheros at Tio's. YUM!!

Weekend Visitors

We had two weekends in a row with family in town and we had such a great time with them!

Over Memorial Day weekend, my family came to visit. Matt came in from Abilene on Friday and my parents and Allison got in on Saturday. Nathan had to work both days so I was the solo entertainer. I made dinner for the three of us Friday night, which was delicious, and then we just hung out and watched an episode of The Office. On Saturday afternoon, I took them to The Boardwalk. We ate at Which Wich and did some serious shopping. We met Nathan at our apartment after he got off work and then we headed to Superior Grill. We had to wait an hour for a table but it was SO worth it! On Sunday we went to church, had lunch at Burger King (terrible place when you are in a hurry, which we were!), and then went out to the horse races. It wasn't quite as fun as I thought it was going to be. They only have one race every thirty minutes. Dad and Matt each placed a $2 bet on one race. Matt lost but Dad won $4.60. The rest of the games we just picked horses among ourselves. I made the mistake of saying I didn't care what horse I had on the first race. I was then continually assigned the absolute worst horses ever. All had no better than 20-1 odds. However, in one race, my horse at least placed : ) After that, we chilled at the house for a while and then went to eat dinner at Pie Works. Another fave of ours and the fam loved it. We drove them past some great houses in the area on the way to the movie theatre to see Prince of Persia. I wasn't too excited about seeing that movie, but I aboslutely loved it. It was such a great story. I almost think I might buy it, and I hardly ever buy movies. I might own 10 at the moment. On Monday we showed them around the base. Mom really liked that. Her dad was in the Army and she lived in a lot of places when she was a kid. After that, we ate lunch at Cheeburger Cheeburger. Again, another fave that the family loved too. Then it was out to Gibsland to the Bonnie and Clyde Ambush Museum. Our family, especially Dad, loves learning about history. To be honest, I was pretty creeped out. They had pictures of the shot up car and of their two shot up bodies. We watched a short movie and a man said that Clyde's dad told the police that he knew they would have to kill his son eventually and that he would be alright with it. Not in a mean way, but in a sad, "that's reality" way. Bonnie even wrote a poem about their deaths. She knew it would have to come to that. It just freaked me out a little that two people were so cruel that they had to be killed. I know, I know. There are people like that all over the world. Heck, I even know that all humans, including me, are wicked at the core. But my goodness. My family went home after that and Nathan and I just hung out at home and watched Iron Man. But that night, I was still creeped out and didn't want to be left in a room alone. So ridiculous.

So, the theme of that family weekend was GOOD FOOD. And here are a few pictures. I am trying to be better about always having my camera with me and taking a whole lot more pictures.

Nathan's parents came to visit this past weekend. It was a last minute kind of thing and we were glad they were able to make it. I was at work on Friday when they got in, and once I got home, we headed to The Boardwalk. We shopped some and then went to eat dinner at Johnny's Pizza. When we got home, we watched That Thing You Do since they had never seen it. On Saturday, Nathan and Randy went to play soccer in a pick up game at LSUS and Tacie went to watch. I, however, stayed home and slept in a little. When they got back, we hung out at the pool for a little while and then went to eat lunch at Chick-fil-A. Then it was to the base. After that, we came home and just hung out. I cooked dinner (a little nerve wracking since I almost always only cook for Nathan), which turned out good and then we watched Avatar and I made chocolate chip cookies, which were also good. None burned, which is a feat with our crazy hot oven. They had to head home Sunday morning, and after they left, we just went to church.

The theme of that family weekend was HANGING OUT. And there are no pictures. Why? Because I still have not mastered the mindset of snapping pictures all of the time, even when we have special things going on.

We loved entertaining and hosting our guests both weekends. We hardly ever get to do anything like that. We need some more visitors, people! : )

Pure in Heart

Sometimes the Sermon on the Mount sounds so vague. The meek, those who mourn, the pure in heart. Who was Jesus talking about?
I heard someone say a few weeks ago (maybe on the radio or in an article) that when Jesus said those who mourn will be comforted, he was talking about those who mourn their sinful actions. When you grieve over how much you have hurt our holy God by your much less than holy actions, God comforts you. He is able to reach you when you realize how far you are from Him. Those who are not mournful of their behavior and choose to brush it off as "no one can be perfect so why should I fret" are not comforted. Sometimes I am only mournful of my behavior because of the consequences I have to face, but that is not true mourning. That is simply a desire to not feel any ill effects. May I always mourn my transgressions and therefore always find comfort in a merciful God.
This Sunday Chuck is preaching on what God requires from us. (Reminder: I get the sermon during the week prior to enter the points and verses into the slides.) I won't go into the sermon, but in describing one of his points, he will use the verse in the Sermon on the Mount that speaks of the pure in heart. Jesus promises they will see God. What does pure of heart mean? It referred to those who were "absolutely loyal to the king." They were the only ones let in to see the king. They were trusted with face to face time with him because they were not suspected of trying to assassinate him in order to obtain the crown for themselves. Only those who were pure in heart/absolutely loyal to the king could see the king. So it is with God. Those who are pure in heart/absolutely loyal to the Lord will see Him. What another great promise! May I always be loyal to God above anyone and anything else and therefore see Him.

Greece is the word!

It's been almost a month since we got back from Greece. What a shame it has taken me that long to blog about our {awesome} trip!

Friday: Herb let me go early. Finished packing. Drove to Arlington to stay with my cousins for the night. Got pulled over on the way there by a cop. Was asked if I had every been out of the country before with "this man." Was grateful I was able to say yes (honeymoon!). Bought some summer clothes for Sean at the mall. Ate pizza with Chad, Connie and their triplets: Ryan, Kyle & Emily. Watched a basketball game. To bed.

Saturday/Sunday: Ate an awesome breakfast that Connie made. Packed up and got ready for traveling. Made it to the airport. Flew from DFW to Philadelphia. Flew from Philadelphia to Switzerland overnight. Took some fantastic "No-Jet Lag" pills. Watched Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief. Flew from Switzerland to Athens. Were so glad to finally be done flying. Took the Metro into Athens. Ate McDonald's out of sheer hunger and convenience. Noticed about half of their taxis are Mercedes. Met up with Sean & Susann at our hostel. No time to shower. Went to Piraeus for the soccer game. Olympiakos v. AEK. Great game. Ate dinner near the water in a cute restaurant. Bed.

Monday: Up early. Heard there were strikes but that it didn't affect us. Ate a delicious pastry filled with creme for breakfast. Took a tour bus around Athens. Got a call that our hostel in Olympia went bankrupt and that we would be staying at a different place. Worried. Saw the Acropolis. One of my favorite parts of the trip. Found out the new Acropolis Museum is closed on Mondays. Ate a really good gyro for lunch. Followed with a cone of chocolate gelato. Saw Hadrian's Library, the Roman Agora, and the Ancient Agora. Went to the National Archaeological Museum. Ate a not so great gyro. Bed.

Tuesday: Up even earlier to catch the bus to Olympia. Found out we had an hour to spare once we got to the station. Hours of riding the bus. Arrived at our replacement hotel. Awesome. Went to the Archaeological Museum of Olympia. Went to the ruins of Ancient Olympia (where they held the games). Went to the Olympic Games Museum. Drank some wine and ate pizza. Chilled in our hotel's classy bar. Watched Hitler's Downfall remakes. Bed.

Wednesday: Up early. Caught the bus back to Athens. Made it to our hostel. Heard there were strickes but they didn't affect us again. Went out to get our ferry tickets to Santorini. Ran into the rioters. Heard them shoot off tear gas. Saw lots of police, broken glass, burned trash cans and cars. Ran into many places with tear gas. Were interviewed by a news station on our thoughts of the riots. Bought a cool book as a souvenir and bars of soap for my friends at work. Found out the ferry ticket place was closed. Tried the Acropolis Musem. No good. Workers were striking. Walked back to our hostel to meet up with Sean & Susann again. Took forever and was kinda scary. Ate dinner at a great place. Sad bye to Sean & Susann. Bed.

Thursday: Up the earliest ever. Trucked all the way to Piraeus. Took an 8 hour ferry ride to Santorini. Kinda sucked. Got to our hostel in Imerovigli. Totally awesome! Ate spaghetti at the hostel's restaurant. Took a small nap. Watched the sun set. Explored the tiny pathways along the caldera (cliff) to Fira. Ate some great pizza and gelato. Heard Kesha playing in the gelato store. Fell in love with Santorini. Bed.

Friday: Up early. Breakfast at our hostel. Discovered a love of plain Greek yogurt with honey. Fed some of the breakfast to the cat so we didn't look rude for not touching what they made for us. Took the bus to the ancient ruins of Thira and Kamari Beach (black beach). Went up the top of the mountain and saw the ruins. Came down and ate pizza by the beach. Layed out. Nathan swam in the Mediterranean. I got in up to the tops of my legs. Way too cold. Ate some gelato. Took the bus back to Oia for a dinner at sunset. Great food. Saw a paraglider. Walked through Oia. Back to Imerovigli. Bed.

Saturday/Sunday: Finally slept in a little. Ate breakfast at our hostel again. More yogurt with honey. Threw an egg over the cliff to again not be perceived as rude. Took the bus to Fira. Went to the Museum of Ancient Thira. Bought a bracelet and some coasters as souvenirs. Ate pizza. Remaining 48 hours were the most miserable ever. Took the 8 hour ferry back to Piraeus. Got in at almost midnight. Dead tired. Took the Metro halfway to the airport. Metro closed. Took a taxi the rest of the way. Stayed in the airport for 5 hours. Flew from Athens to Germany. Flight delayed due to volcano erupting. Board plane. Sit on plane for about 2 hours waiting for a takeoff slot. Get a slot. About to takeoff. Have to return to gate because of some breaker that is causing our navigation system to malfunction. Wait on plane another hour. Are told we might have our flight cancelled. Get fixed. Back in line for a takeoff slot. Finally take off. Are the last to take off. Airport closes literally five minutes later. Get in the air. Pilot tells us our flight will be extended due to the fact that we must fly all the up to Iceland/Greenland in order to go around the erupting volcano. Watch lots of movies. See Iceland/Greenland. Supposedly could see volcano erupting. Apparently our eyes aren't that good. Finally land in Charlotte. Go through customs. Have missed our connecting flight to DFW. Get in line with the rest of the plane to get rebooked. Wait forever. Are sure that we will get put up in a hotel in Charlotte and get to fly out the next morning. Really looking forward to sleeping and in a bed. No such luck. Have to fly out that night. Make phone calls to jobs to let them know we won't be in Monday morning. Fly from Charlotte to DFW. Get in after midnight. Finally get our car and get to a La Quinta. Shower and Sleep!!!

Monday: Up early. Take my car to get it's Texas inspection. Breakfast at Taco Cabana. Drive back to Shreveport. In a daze. I go into work for a few hours.

The End.

It was such a great adventure. Literally. Our absolute favorite was Santorini, but we knew it would be. Nathan really liked seeing the ruins and artifacts in Olympia and I really loved the Acropolis. Of all the disaster we could have encountered, our only disappointment was not being able to see the new Acropolis Museum. And now we can tell our children that we were in Athens when the riots of 2010 were happening. Heck, we witnessed the aftermath! We are pretty done with flying and extensive traveling for a while though and are totally looking forward to our vacation in July to celebrate our first anniversary. More on that some other time.

I'll leave you with some pictures.