Festivals!

Well, now that we've had Matt back to ourselves for a few weekends we have definitely taken advantage of it.  We have been to more festivals in 3 weeks than I've been to in years!

 First, we headed to downtown Ottoville for the Catholic Immaculate Conception Church Festival.  There weren't too many people, but they did have Bingo going on in the gym.  We went in, sat down and I immediately won $5!  I was excited.  We were still ahead by $3 when we called it quits and headed over to the ice cream shop for a treat :) 

 Catholic Church

 She is really enjoying the swings!

 We noticed this trend at each festival... people that live close just ride over on their golf carts- some are fancy too!

Next, we went to the Rib Fest in Ottawa.  It was perfect too because I had been craving ribs :)  Although, I will say, my dad's ribs could have beat all of theirs-- I even called him afterwards to tell him to start finding rib contests to enter in!  But, they were still delicious... they had a country band there too and we enjoyed listening to the music. 

We ate at this vendor...

 She was clapping and bouncing up and down to the music... very cute :)



Finally, yesterday, we went to Music in the Park.  They had free hot dogs and hamburgers! I LOVE a good hot dog! :)  It was hosted by the Methodist Church in Westminster, OH.  They had several different acts-- mostly country/bluegrass gospel and a quartet.  We stayed and listened for a while before heading home to put Caylee to bed.  (No good pics from this event)

Festivals are pretty fun... I'll be even more excited when Caylee is big enough to jump on all the blow up things that these places have.  I think she'll really enjoy that. There are plenty more coming up, so we're looking forward to those weekends!  Also, the weather is not hot here at all... mid-80s, so it's great for festivals (people up here seem hot, but we have been enjoying it). 

9 Months!

Caylee is 9 months today! It kinda caught me off guard too.  I only knew because a friend posted on facebook that Christmas was just 5 months away... that got me thinking that Christmas is on the 25, so today must be the 25th!  (Days kinda run together)

Anyways... Caylee is growing so fast! She's crawling everywhere and loves getting into things- particularly the dog's water bowl.  I have the kitchen blocked off with chairs, but she's just about figured out how to crawl under and through all the bars.  Smart girl :)  Time to buy a real gate soon!

Other than that we have started "real" food... cheerios.  I've also tried giving her different foods to naw on while I cook dinner.  She is LOVING grapes and strawberries!  She does not like mandarin oranges or carrots.  I've given her a cracker or piece of tortilla too and she really likes those.  The chewing is taking some time to get used to, but Sammy loves that she still spits things out... he is always patiently waiting very near by. 

Today we headed to the pool.  They have a pretty large baby pool that is just 1 foot deep and normally she just hangs onto the wall and looks at the other kids. Today, she walked herself all around (holding onto the wall) following the bigger kids and trying to get their toys! I loved it!  I was amazed she was walking so well in the pool!  She won't do that on our coffee table yet, but someday :)

Here are some 9 month pics: 


Laughing in the chair... will not sit still :)

Playing with toys on Diego... he is less than thrilled.

When she starts to climb on him, he dumps her on the ground... she just crawls after him.  Poor dog is constantly getting up to move.

Sammy loving the dropped food... 

My Journey- Part 9

The Beginning and the End….

I’m about to end “My Journey” series and get back to regular blogging.  Most of these past posts had been written during the journey.  I write things for 2 reasons: 1. To see where I’ve been  and 2. To see what God is doing.  If you don’t write things down right away your perspective tends to get skewd.  You may look back and remember an event differently- this can be good or bad.  However, if you write things down right away you can look back and see exactly where God has taken you.  This journey has reminded me a little of skiing….

A few years back, Matt and I went with my sister and her friend on a ski trip to Breckenridge.  This was definitely one of the best trips we have ever taken!  If you know anything about skiing, you know that the slopes are ranked in levels of difficulty by colors.  Green circles are for beginners, Blue squares for intermediate, Black diamonds for advanced and Double Diamond Black for expert.   Matt, Cass and I preferred the Blues.  These were just challenging enough, yet still well within our comfort level.  As we looked at the map we found a mountain full of blue slopes!  The only problem was that it was several mountains over and there wasn’t an easy way of getting there from where our condo was.  So we mapped out a route from the mountain we were at to the mountain we wanted to get to.   This meant we had to go up several lifts, then down certain paths to another lift, then back up, back down, back up, back down….

I’d say realistically it took us the better part of the morning to reach our destination.  When we did get there, we had a blast and skied all over that mountain!  But here’s what I learned along the way…

1.       Enjoy the journey

*The 3 of us had such a great time getting to our destination.  We laughed, we stopped to take pictures, we saw gorgeous scenery and just really enjoyed the time together.  We were determined to reach our destination, yes, but we weren’t so impatient that we missed things along the way.

2.       There will be bumps

*I don’t know if we made wrong turns or just looked at our map wrong or what happened, but a few times we ended up on some black diamonds.  This meant that there were moguls (bumpy things that you ski around… or in my case bounce over all the way because I couldn’t turn my skis), there were steep parts and honestly just places that we didn’t really want to be.  Of course we made it through, but these were serious times!  We had to be careful and watch out for each other too.  

3.       Learn from others/Others will learn from you

*During the black diamond sections I remember being stopped and watching other skiers.  I was trying to see how they would handle the situation and what my next move should be.  Also, during our trek over to the other mountain we learned from each other… we took turns leading and following.  We gave each other tips (like “Matt, don’t go through the trees, that’s stupid” J ) But there is nothing wrong with learning from others and you also never know when someone is looking at your situation and learning from you.

4.       The end is worth it

*Like I said, once we got to the mountain of our choosing, we had a blast!  We went up and down several times and really enjoyed the rest of the afternoon. 

So… what does this have to do with now?  Well, Matt and I are on a new journey.  One that, so far, has seemed very bumpy to me and not super exciting.  But it doesn’t matter because God has a plan and there is truly beauty all around.  Just like skiing, the mountains were gorgeous from the bottom (if you are sure to keep your eyes focused up) and the views were amazing from the top (you see everywhere you’ve been, dangers you missed, and beauty that can only be seen from the top).  The easy slopes made times fun and carefree, the hard slopes gave us a feeling of accomplishment and the drive to keep going.  The entire journey is always worth it.  That’s what I’m learning about this move too… I may not understand it, but it’s not forever, it’s just another path in life that we must take to get to our final destination…  That destination, of course, being heaven with Jesus… because that is the ultimate joy and hope in life.

So there you go!  My journey is not over (but my series is)… Just as a reminder of some amazing beauty from God, here are some pics from our trip a few years back. 

Me and Cass 

**Sidenote: One of the days we skied it was -7 degrees, that's why you can't see any part of our face!

Sunset

 All 3 ready to go down!

View from the top!

From the middle

Looking back through where we came...

Moguls... they are much scarier than they look!

My Journey- Part 8

The Storm...

When I say massive, I mean 90mph winds, tornadoes everywhere and just a little rain (they really need rain, but not much came with the storm). It lasted about 20 minutes.  We were the stupid people watching out the window, but you could barely see 2 ft from the house! It was CRAZY!  It was the strength of a Cat 1 Hurricane, but without so much water.  Of course, with a storm like that, you expect power to go out.  And it did.  For 5 days.

Yep, 5 days the power was out.  Friday night we were fine.  The storm had brought with it a very nice cool front.  We opened up the windows and enjoyed the evening, even taking a walk and meeting some neighbors.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t the best time to meet neighbors as many barn roofs were wrapped around trees, power lines were down and tons of other damage we saw on our walk.

By Saturday we began to wonder if our power would be out longer because we were in such a rural area.  Our fears were confirmed when Jim, our farmer neighbor, came to check on us and gave us the bad report.  His son worked for the phone company and another daughter worked for someone else.  Both were predicting no power throughout the week.  He did show us that we had a hand pump for the well (VERY handy!), but beyond that we had nothing.  It wouldn’t have been such a big deal (especially since we had water from the well for stuff), except that the forecast was not looking good.  They were reporting record highs of 99-103 for the entire week—something that, according to Jim, “never happens!”. 

So off we went to Matt’s parent’s house for a few days.  (First we stopped at our first ever Waffle House… we were starving and all I wanted was a waffle!)  His parent are still 2+ hours away, just like Lexington (but now we’re north, not south), so they didn’t get what we got.  We got in Saturday night, put Caylee to bed and stayed through Monday morning.  They had all the great-grandparents over Sunday evening.  We headed out Monday to a friend’s house.  We were just stopping in to say hello, but ended up staying 2 nights with them too.  (When I checked in with Jim, power was supposed to be on Mon evening or Tuesday, but later that changed to “possibly not until Saturday”)  This week was getting REALLY long and we were running out of clothes!  (I know, we could have done laundry, but the point was that we had just moved in and I wanted to be home unpacking and organizing).  As a bonus, we were able to see fireworks on July 3rd from their house.  I LOVE fireworks and they set them off a day early in Springfield.  They live just across from the fairgrounds and we had a great view.  Caylee stayed up for them and seemed to enjoy them too.  I was glad we didn't miss fireworks this year, I always look forward to that.   

Anyways, after staying with family and friends each a few nights, we headed home… this time prepared… with a generator!  (THANKS!) The power did return eventually, and we were SO thankful!  We had to re-stock our fridge (again), but we’re so lucky we can afford to do that.  It really made us thankful for what we have and that we aren’t in dire want, also made me thankful for power and I realized how much we rely on it for everything!!      

Well Pump

Waffle House-- the waffle was pretty good, but it's not a super nice place to eat.

Playing with friends... Caylee LOVED being here because they gave her space and showed her all sorts of toys.

Riding the mechanical horse at Texas Roadhouse

Swinging outside... he was so sweet with her... my favorite quotes from him were:
1. S: "Let's play hide and seek with her"
Me: "How are you going to do that?"
S: "We will put her in a closet and count and go find her"
Me: "Well, maybe when she gets older, but I don't think she'll like that right now"

2. S: "I think she's tired and needs a massage, I'll give her one"

So funny :)

Exhausted from a very long, unexpected traveling week.  We were glad to be home!

My Journey- Part 7

The Move...

The actual move I had very little part in.  (Thanks to being pregnant!)  Matt and I have been married 6 years this coming August and we have lived in 6 different homes.  I have done my share of moving and I strongly dislike it, so I wasn’t disappointed to miss out on this one.  Plus, Caylee needed attention and care too and I was/am fully capable of that J 

The move was ok.  Matt and I rented a Budget truck- a SUPER LARGE one!  He and a friend loaded the big stuff the night before and then he finished up the boxes that night.  His parents drove down the next morning and we headed straight out.  The night before, with beds being packed, he and I had to sleep on the floor.  (The air mattress wouldn’t blow up!) So… I was already miserable by early the next morning.  My head was beginning to hurt and of course I had been feeling sick anyways with the pregnancy.  The day turned out to be extremely long and by 8pm that night I was throwing up and then in bed with a massive migraine.  I was glad that day was over.  All that was left was the unpacking!

The next day (Wednesday) I began to feel better and we dove into the unpacking.  Caylee really enjoyed getting into EVERYTHING that she was not supposed to get into.  This was much easier since she had decided to learn to crawl on Monday of that week.  The house is very large and there is a LARGE storage barn out back, not to mention the huge garage.  Matt loved it too!  I was glad since he hadn’t seen it, but so far things seemed to be working out.  The house is an old farm house, but new carpet had just been put in and walls had been painted recently.  It’s surrounded by acres and acres of soy bean fields right now (did I mention we’re 30-45 minutes from the closest “big” city??).  It’s definitely a small town life.  The town of Ottoville that it’s near (2 miles) has just 900 people.  I have NEVER lived anywhere SO small!!! 

Anyways, the unpacking was moving right along and we had headed out to Walmart (the closest store) to stock up the fridge.  Things were about in place by Friday when a MASSIVE storm hit. 

Moving Truck Pics....

 HUGE Truck :)

 Gorgeous sunset on last night...

My Journey- Part 6

The Hunt...

As I mentioned, the hunt for a house was on and time was limited.  The second weekend in June I went up to Lima, met some friends and we began searching.  I had set up 4 craigslist listings to view and we began with those. 

The first house smelled like smoke and had the tiniest backyard I had ever seen!  I almost cried at the house thinking “What are we doing?!  I’m never going to find anything!”.  The second house was WAY far out, but gorgeous.  It was an older home, but had 4 bedrooms, 2 ½ baths, 2 floors, a massive garage and an extra storage barn out back.  It sat on an acre of land with trees!  I’m not fond of trees, I think they bring bugs, but trees in northern Ohio where all you see are corn fields and soy bean fields is a huge relief and such a treat!  The third house was cute, but in a bad neighborhood.  The fourth house reaked of smoke, even worse than the first. 

So that left me with house #2.  It would only take Matt 20 minutes max to get to and from work, that was a bonus.  It would take me 40 minutes to get into a decent town with any kind of shopping.  That was a negative.  The owner wasn’t sure about the dogs (negative) because he had just laid new carpet (positive!).  So we talked and I emailed him back and forth expressing how much we really liked the house and that we’d take good care of it.  Matt and I filled out the application and sent it in right away. 

Two days later… the house was ours! 

What a relief!  It’s a perfect house for our now growing family of 4 J  I’ll adjust to small town living and Matt will get to maximize his time at home with us. 

God does provide! 

“He led them by a straight way to a city where they could settle.  Let them give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for men, for He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.” Psalm 107:7-9

House Pics!

Front of house

 Side view with the 2 garages

 closer up of the front... yes, that is pink - kinda different, but kinda works with the house too

 entering thru the garage to the kitchen (disregard the table, it's a catch-all)

 other side of the kitchen (playroom off to left)
**Sidenote:  We have no oven, stove or dishwasher!  Yep, all dishes are hand washed and I use a hot plate and toaster oven to bake and boil things.... not super easy, but it gets the job done!

 Play room/office (that door leads to the half bath and washer/dryer room)

 From kitchen, looking into family room (to the left it connects to playroom/office)... that door leads to our bedroom

 Our bedroom... the right is another entrance to the half bath and washer/dryer room, the left is our bathroom and back out to family room

 View from our room... the landlords had/have gorgeous landscaping! Unfortunately, I hate yard work and it's been SOOO dry here, so several plants are/have died.  If we'd get some rain it'd be easier to keep up.  We have tried to keep the roses watered and the peach tree watered. 

 Our bathroom... check out how MASSIVE it is... awesome tub too, but no shower, so we shower upstairs... again, a little weird, but it's an older house.  This will end up being the nursery for a couple weeks anyways.  I know what you're thinking, but after having a csec, the idea of going up and down stairs multiple times a day and night does not sound fun.  Also, Matt and I are against having a baby in our bedroom... he gets up at all weird times and the dogs make noise... it just doesn't make for a good sleeping environment for a baby we are trying to get on a schedule.  SO!  The bathroom it will be for a few weeks... we'll just use the half bath :) 

The toilet in our bathroom deserves it's own picture... it's an antique toilet or something... you pull the cord thing to flush... very funny!

  Upstairs!

Caylee's room... was supposed to be guest room with 2 twin beds bc it is SO big, but the room I wanted for her was SO hot since there was an attic entrance.  In the winter it would have been too cold, so she gets this awesome room :)  Yes, it's wallpapered.... not a fan, but this is a rental, so it'll work!  I found some old toys and stuff my grandparents made me and they serve as really cute decor to go with the room!!

Soon to be new nursery (after the bathroom :) ) Hoping for a boy since the room already has blue and we don't usually paint rentals!

 Was supposed to be Caylee's room... has tons of shelving up and a HUGE closet, but way too hot like I said.  Oh well... guest room it is (don't worry, we'll try to make it as comfy as possible for our few guests)

That's it!  That's the house....  It's really big and has been comfortable so far!  We're very lucky we found a place that is so cheap, big and non-smoking!!! 

My Journey- Part 5

The Silver Lining...

Everything was happening so quickly!  We found out we had to move from Calumet by July 1^st officially on Derby Weekend.  By Memorial Weekend we were visiting a practice in Ohio.  By the first weekend in June we were accepting an offer, the second weekend led to a search up north for houses,  the 3^rd weekend I would have a friend up from Texas visiting and helping, the fourth weekend we’d be in Iowa visiting my dad and then the move would happen that last week of June. Whew!

So imagine the surprise when right in amongst all that we find out that I’m pregnant with our second child.  June 4^th to be exact! 

I hadn’t been feeling great, but given the stress of May I was sure that’s all it was.  Nonetheless, things were off and I took a test.  Positive!  I wanted to tell Matt in a fun way, but didn’t really know how.  So I found a shirt online that said “I’m going to be a Big Sister!”.  I said to him, “I found Caylee a cute shirt online that I’m going to order, do you want to see it?”  He replied “no”.  J  I said, “Nope, you have to look, c’mon”.  I showed him the picture and he said, “That’s stupid, why would you get that for her, it doesn’t even make sense.”  I looked at him and said, “Really? You don’t get it?”.  He looked at me again and I finally just said, “I’m pregnant”.  He was shocked.  I don’t really know why he was so shocked.  We wanted our kids close together, but I guess he just didn’t think it would happen that soon.  Later he would tell me that he had actually just been thinking that if I were to get pregnant when she was about a year old they would still be under 2 years apart and wouldn’t that be great.  Oh well!  They’ll be a little closer than he imagined… 15 ½ months to be exact.  But we’re thrilled and very excited! 

I have to say, it didn’t come as quite a shock to me, but once we found out, there was just so much more to be done.  Finding a house, packing, moving etc… several times I kind of forgot I was pregnant (except when the nausea hit!).  Not because I am not happy about this baby, just preoccupied with the one I have I guess.  I’m so excited God gave us this silver lining through everything else that is going on!  I think Caylee will be a fantastic big sis and I’m so excited they will be so close in age.  Many fun years to come!

This isn't the shirt I originally found, but that one didn't come in a good size.  This shirt is still big, but will fit great in a few months!

Clapping :)

My Journey- Part 4

My Psalm...

Shortly after we found out we’d have to move off of Calumet Farm by July 1^st,  and at the time had just begun looking into this job up north,  I began to search.  I didn’t know what I was searching for exactly… answers, peace, clear signs… who knows.  Then one Sunday in May I was in my Sunday school class for the quarterly breakfast/prayer journal share.  It was an emotional morning as many of the ladies began to share their struggles, pains, joys, excitement over what God had been teaching them each in their prayer time over the past few months.  One lady was particularly emotional with some things going on and another lady offered this advice, “Find your psalm”.  Huh?  I had never heard that before. She went on to explain that during her darkest days her big brother had suggested she “find her psalm”, something that God would give her to cling to.  The only way she knew how to do this was to go through and read the entire book of Psalms and see what jumped out at her.  So she did.  Twice.  Finally, in the middle of the night the same verse kept coming to her and she looked it up and there it was. Her Psalm.

I began thinking about this.  I needed a Psalm.  I wanted something to cling to.  I had been wanting answers and just reading through my normal study didn’t seem to be giving me what I needed.  So I began reading….

Did you know that the book of Psalms contains 150 chapters?  1-5-0… yep, that was a lot.  Granted, many are very short and quick, but some are very long….  As I began reading nothing was happening.  I would read 10 or so chapters a day and nothing… every now and then I would like a verse, mark it in my notes and come back to it, but nothing… About 2 weeks of this went on…  then I found it.  My Psalm.  The special word God had given me to cling to….

Psalm 84

How lovely is your dwelling place,

O Lord Almight!

My soul yearns, even faints,

for the courts of the Lord;

my heart and flesh cry out

for the living God.

Even the sparrow has found a home,

and the swallow a nest for herself,

where she may have her young-

                                                             a place near your altar,

O Lord Almighty, my King and my God.

Blessed are those who dwell in your house;

they are ever praising you.

Blessed are those whose strength is in you,

who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.

As they pass through the Valley of Baca,

they make it a place of springs;

the autumn rains also cover it with pools.

they go from strength to strength,

til each appears before God in Zion.

Hear my prayer, O Lord God Almighty;

listen to me, O God of Jacob.

Look upon our shield, O God;

look with favor on your anointed one.

Better is one day in your courts

than a thousand elsewhere;

I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God

than dwell in the tents of the wicked.

For the Lord God is a sun and shield;

the Lord bestows favor and honor;

no good thing does he withhold

from those whose walk is blameless.

O Lord Almighty,

blessed is the man who trusts in you.

I highlighted the parts that really caught my attention.  First of all, I thought if the birds have found homes then certainly God has a home for my family too.  I also read in my footnotes that “Baca” can mean weeping (Valley of Weeping).  So as people struggle on their way towards God they can also grow in strength through the springs and pools.  That was key for me because I knew the upcoming months would be a struggle for me…

The month of May, and even June, brought much weeping.  I’ll be honest, Matt and I really struggled with each other and I struggled with everything.  I was super emotional and really having a hard time dealing with the idea of moving again- especially moving to Ohio.  These verses really helped.  I have now set my sights on pilgrimage and I am now waiting for all those tears to turn to springs and pools where I can go from strength to strength.

That’s life anyways right?  Hills and valleys, deserts and streams…. So much hope though in the fact that we get new strength from God all the time!

Throughout May and June I would come across several other verses that gave me hope for our future.  But this Psalm was what I clinged to, still do.  This psalm was like the opening of the floodgates of all God was about to teach us and put us through. 

My Journey- Part 3

My Fear...

O.H.I.O.  Yep, that’s what I said.  Ohio… just let it sink it in for a while. 

Here’s where I am, where I was and everything in between. 

Back in May when Matt first approached me with the job opening I immediately said “no”.  I didn’t ask questions, I didn’t look at it, I just said no.  Ohio was the last place I wanted to be.  I had spent 5 ½ years in middle school and high school trying to get OUT of Ohio.  Then I thought about it and I wasn’t really being fair.  Matt hated that he wasn’t home more, he was trying so hard to spend more time with Caylee and I…. the least I could do was look.  So I did.  At the same time, I knew the complications we’d face moving up there and I knew the stress it would have on me so I began to pray… hard.  I also told some friends and they began to pray.  I so wanted Matt and I to have One Heart and One Way like the verse in Jeremiah. 

“I will give them one heart and one way that they might fear me forever for their own good and for the good of their children after them.” (Jer 32:39).

So we began to seek out the Lord and to continue to follow this job lead.  It led to a visit up in Ohio over Memorial Day Weekend.  The visit was fine.  The vet was very nice.  Matt really enjoyed the time he spent at the clinic.  The hours offered were supposedly going to be much better for our family.  I was not fond of the area.  There is really nothing up in that part of Ohio except corn fields, soy bean fields and more of that.  But, everything was falling into place…. Everything except my heart.

That Memorial Weekend opened up many of the expected fears and complications I knew we’d face if we moved up to Ohio.  While the visit was great, things were a mess.  But Matt stayed strong and held his ground against some of the issues arising and really showed me that this move was only about 2 things: 1. Spending more time with Caylee and I and 2. Him being happy in his job.  The move wasn’t about anyone else or anything else and the expectations from others that we will face are not ours to live up to. 

I continued studying and praying throughout the month of May and through the story of David, Saul and their relationship, God revealed some pretty important things to me.  This really helped calm me down and really gave me a much more open mind.  God’s word and the fact that Matt had been such a defender of me and the choices we have made in raising Caylee was a great source of relief to me.  We were still waiting for the official offer to see if it would really be worth it. 

It was.

Trust me it wasn’t/isn’t all about money either because in this case we are making several trade offs.  But the biggest deal is that Matt will be home- we hope.  With us.  Every weekend.  This is important.  We have so much we want to do with Caylee, so much we want to do with each other, so much we want to teach her together.  The 3 of us. 

Thus begins our journey north.  To the cold.  To the small town life.  To whatever God has for us there.  

My Journey- Part 2

Year of the Thoroughbred...

Kentucky.  It wasn’t one of the states I remember much about from 2^nd grade.  All I knew was that it was the horse capital of the world.  Convenient since my sweet husband is, of course, an equine vet.  So here we were… having spent the past 8 years in Texas, me pregnant with our first child, moving to Lexington, KY to live on the famed Calumet Farm.  Life was definitely about to change. 

The farm was gorgeous, and very private.  I no longer worked and was waiting to have our child.  Matt suddenly worked all the time.  Life was very different.  Thankfully, God provided.  I found a church very quickly, met some amazing ladies who took me in, and made some friends in the other vet wives.  We were blessed to meet our little girl, Caylee Ann, on Matt’s 27^th birthday.  She’s been a joy ever since.

Kentucky was beautiful.  We experienced all 4 seasons (although, I thankfully missed the snow since I was visiting friends in Texas at the time- my friend still took pics for me!).  Lexington itself had TONS to do!  There was great shopping, fun parks, and  beautiful farms.  We had a friend who had twin girls that Caylee loved playing with.  Church was amazing, the women’s bible study even more amazing.  For me, it was a very unexpected, great year full of growth and new adventures.    

There was just one problem with Kentucky.  Work.  Matt was working 7 days a week from almost 6:30am-6:30pm.  He would get home in time to see Caylee for just an hour or so before she was off to bed.  He and I never went out.  He was exhausted from working, and I was exhausted from the lack of family time and time off he didn’t have.  So the search was on….

He began to tell former professors and friends that he was “open to the idea of leaving”.  He sent letters to everyone we could think of in… yep, of course, Texas.  He also looked around in Oklahoma as well.  And one day it happened.  A job opened up on the AVMA website.  It looked to be a great job, fewer hours, all equine, horses he would enjoy working with etc.  In fact, the surgeon Matt currently worked with even knew the guy.  He introduced him to Matt.  Matt followed up via email and phone calls.  We even went to visit the practice. 

Finally, on June 5^th, Matt officially accepted a new job…. Texas right?  Nope.  Ohio. 

SUMMER

FALL

WINTER

SPRING