Meet My Critters

Back on January 2nd, Casey & I adopted sweet little Ella from the Mesquite Animal Shelter. She was approximately 10 weeks old. She has captured our hearts (even Casey's) with her spunky little attitude and cuddly sweetness. She stays indoors and is my very first kitty to do so. Growing up, I always had cats, but they had to stay outside and only came inside if they were being held or closely watched. Ella is VERY house trained and has never made a 'mistake.' Good for her! :) She does wear 'fake kitty nails' over her front claws to keep from scratching. I know that probably sounds really strange, but they are vet approved, gel covers that you put a little bit of glue in, and then stick on. It works pretty well! Here she is...

Meet Ella!

Last, but certainly not least...On Sunday, the 22nd of this month, Casey and I went and got our newest addition to the family. She is now 10 weeks old and is already quite large for a pup! She is a full blood, black labrador retriever. She is already really smart...she has learned how to sleep quietly in her crate, walk on a leash, come when she is called, fetch her ball (every time now!), and sit (about half the time). That is a lot for only 4 days training! Here she is...

Meet Maddie!

Befores and Afters

Yea!!! We've been getting some work done on our house and it is coming along fantastically! When we moved in, there was absolutely no mantle on the fireplace...just unfinished brick that wasn't wide enough to set anything on. Well, we had one made by a guy at our church named Andy Rickerson (brother of Charlie). Here are some before and after pictures.

The Fireplace

Before picture...check out the 6 layers of brick above the fire pit.

Andy ripping away the top 3 rows of brick to make way for the mantle

lots of brick ripped away...a little scary at first!

After picture!!! We now have a mantle that we can set things on!!

Another after picture! We love it!

Another project we have is our front yard...this will definitely be a work in progress. Actually, when we were first shown this house by our realtor, we didn't even go look at it because it had such bad curb appeal. We saw the ugly white rocks on the sides of the sidewalk and the fact that there were no shrubs or flower beds, the grass was dead, and the yard was sloping and hated it. When we finally did go in it, a month or so later, we loved it, but promised to take care of the yard ASAP! So, thanks to our builder friend Steven English from cLife, we were able to get stone landscaping for an awesome price! Thanks so much Steven, for everything! We love it!

The Front Yard

Here is a before picture. Notice the flower beds...that's the only thing we've changed so far. Oh yeah, and that super long gutter that juts out on the right.

Here are some after pictures of our stone!! YAY!

I love the stacked look.

Love it.

We are getting another tree put in on the right side of our yard and still have enough stone left over to put around it, too!

The other side again.

Playing Catch Up!

Well, I have a LOT of catching up to do and I think the best way to explain what has been going on in my life lately is to show you through picture form. Sooo, I am just going to post some pictures with captions and catch you all up the best way I know how! After all, I am a camera queen. Enjoy! :)

Back in late January, Laura, Casey, and I went to see Twilight. Casey obviously didn't care too much, so we didn't care to include him in the picture :)

Here we are, best friends since 1st or 2nd grade--still an ongoing debate :)

Also, in January, is a very important birthday boy! My wonderful husband Casey! He turned 26 this year, and I have to add that he is 3 years and 3 months older than me...don't want people thinkin' I'm an old person, too! :)

The night of Casey's birthday was the first night of cLife's dNow (disciple now). Our theme this year was Celebrity. Here is a cool picture from that first night. Look closely and you'll see the CELEBRITY letters.

Another special birthday is in February! The day after Vday my mom had her bday! I won't say how old, but I will say she is getting close to the big 5-0! Ha ha. She's not there just yet though :)

Casey & I gave her some red kitchen canisters like mine that she envied and a cool basket for her living room that she wanted.

Then, about 2 weekends later, Casey was asked to be the speaker at a disciple now in McAllen, TX. Here are some pictures from our trip!

Casey being silly in our room before speaking

The students worshiping!

Getting ready one night

Casey speaking on the first night. He did a great job!

One night in February we met Charlie and Ginni at Bowl-A-Rama in Rowlett for a couple of games! Charlie won the first one, and I won the second one. We went to Pancho & Lefty's afterward for dinner! Yummy! :)

Here's a picture of Team Coats as Casey likes to refer to us.

Here's one of Casey's famous curve balls, and don't forget that I took a bowling class at A&M!

Charlie throwing one of his many strikes! I had one of Ginni, but she erased it!

Our friends, Charlie & Ginni :)

Now, we're finally in March. The first weekend in March we went to our first wedding in cLife's new building. The reception looked awesome! Here's Casey and I...check out the decor behind us!

He Asked. I Said Yes.

Exactly two years ago today, March 3rd, 2007, Casey asked me to marry him.

He had my college roommates trick me into going to Austin, we had dinner, got coffee at our favorite place on the lake, then we went to Mt. Bonnell where there were candles and rose petals all around. He said lots of sweet things that he'd been waiting to say, told me he loved me for the first time, and gave me a ring.

He got on his knee, and asked me to be his wife.

Without hesitation, I said yes.

I stared at that ring, and solemnly vowed to never replace it, upgrade, or alter it. This was going to be the ring I would wear happily, everyday, as long as I live.

I didn't earn this man. I am not worthy of his love.

He didn't come the first time I wished for him. Maybe around the millionth.

He wasn't what I expected, exactly. I didn't have that good of an imagination, obviously. He is WAY better.

Our story is not like a chic flick.

It's more real. It's deeper. It's flawed. It's lasting.

He didn't arrive on the scene at just the moment I got my act together. That would be works driven. He was a gift of grace, despite myself. (I did have to get rid of the WRONG guy I was hanging onto first!)

I remember the euphoria of that night! I can only reflect on God's goodness and His good plans for me, though I am undeserving.

He has good plans for all of us, despite ourselves, and those plans seldom look like what we hope for. They are not always what we expect. They are way better.

Here are a couple pictures from that special night.

Live picture of him placing my gorgeous ring on my finger

Just couldn't hold it in after a while :)My Happily Ever After

Taken the next day--One of my beautiful gifts from him from the night before.