Graduation, Goodbyes, Boxes, Boxes, and More Boxes

First, I have to say Congratulations to my husband, who is now officially a "Master Scuba Diver"...the highest classification you can have in the diving industry!! He took his final yesterday, and finished #2 in his class, so Woo Hoo!!!! for Ryan. I'll post pics of his graduation (which is tonight) eventually, but we're going to be internet-free for the next few days as we turn off our utilities here, set them up at the new house, etc...you know how that goes.

This past week has confirmed for me that I HATE goodbyes. It doesn't matter how long, or short in this case, you live somewhere...you always become attached to something. On Sunday, we went to our last service at Crosspoint Church, which has been the hugest blessing during our time here in Houston. I will really miss playing for that early service that I always griped about having to wake up at 6:30 for. On Tuesday, I had to say goodbye to a perfect job and all of my wonderful co-workers, who I will truly miss. On Wednesday, I had my last "Jason's Deli Lunch with Rachel". We've been meeting for lunch every Wednesday for the past few months, and I am SO going to miss our girl talk over her turkey wrap with no sprouts and my chicken panini. ha ha! I guess it's always bittersweet to move, but it's nice to know that we made some great memories while we were here.

Anyway, I guess when we moved from our 3 bedroom house to this small apartment, I didn't realize how much we put in storage. I can't walk around my apartment there are so many boxes! HOLY COW...I don't know how it's all going to fit into our Uhaul on Sunday, but I'm praying for a miracle. Ryan's parents are coming in tomorrow to help us load and to drive Ryan's truck back to the metroplex so that he can drive the Uhaul truck Monday morning. I'm not sure how it's all going to work out yet, but I do know that by this time next week, we will be in our new house! I'm really excited to get settled in and finally make a place HOME. We've been looking forward to that for the past 5 years, and it's finally here!!! WOO HOO!!

Spoiled Rotten

Yep, that's me...I was TOTALLY spoiled rotten on my birthday this year. Since Ryan was actually in the country for the first time in 3 years, he went all out. From a suprise dinner party, to breakfast in bed, to MORE presents than I needed, he gets an A+ in my book! Here are some pictures of me ringing in year #27!!!

A few couples from our life group surprised me at Carrabba's...I love, love, love their spaghetti and meatballs!! From left to right: Bill & Elisabeth, Steve & Diana, Ryan & me, Amber, and Rachel & Justin

I had 3 of these Sid Dickens tiles already, and Ryan completed my collection so that I can have them above my piano in the new house. I was SO excited...I can't wait to hang them up!

We went to Ryan's parents' over the weekend to take our first load of stuff (Woo Hoo!!) and celebrated mine & Kendall's birthdays in downtown Fort Worth Saturday night. I cannot wait until we're living so close to them!!

Brad goes broke in July because mine & Kendall's birthdays are 5 days apart. Lucky him. :)

Kendall's brother, Ryan, and his wife Emily. They live one neighborhood over from our new house!

Movin' on Up

Wow...it's been a month since my last post. That is so irresponsible of me. It's not that I haven't had any news to blog about. It's just that I've been nervous to say too much about it for fear that something might go wrong. But, I'm taking a leap of faith and posting pictures of our NEW HOUSE!!!! 3 weeks ago, I went house hunting in Burleson with my mom, Kendall, and Kathy (Kendall's mom). Ryan couldn't go because of school and work. After looking at house after house after house of nothing that I really loved, I found it. I called Ryan when I got back to my brother's apartment and told him that I knew he'd love it and that I could see us making it home. It is a newer house, but in an established neighborhood with lots of trees and NO CONSTRUCTION going on around it! That's really hard to find these days! I showed Ryan pictures, and without ever laying eyes on the house, we made an offer on it. Talk about trust!! We were looking for a house that was move-in ready, but that we could still invest in making a lot better over about 3 years. There's something about blood, sweat, and tears that Ryan and I really love, so we're excited to get to work on it. You'll have to keep the "before" pictures in mind, and I'll be posting updates as we re-do a lot of things. The craziest, probably stupidest, thing about the fact that we already bought this house is that Ryan still hasn't signed on the dotted line about his job in Burleson yet. Yep, I guess that's what you call putting all of your eggs in one basket. We really did just take a leap of faith in purchasing it before all of the details are official, but I know that it's going to all work out. It's not the first time we've done something spur of the moment. So after lots of repainting, new floors, changing fixtures, and some other things, we hope to move in late this month, or August 10th at the latest. We have our apartment until then, and we can't afford a mortgage and our rent at the same time for too long. We can't wait to be closer to all the people we care about! You'll all have to come visit us!

Here are some "Before" pictures:

Here is the entry...where you see carpet, we'll be putting in wood floors to match the floors in the living room. We'll also get rid of the ugly brass light fixture.

Some things I love about this house are the windows, the molding, and the fact that none of the ceilings are square. This is the dining room...The ceiling fan will go away, and we'll put a chandelier in...wood floors in here also.

Our "maroon" study won't be maroon for long either...it'll get painted.

Lots of updating to do in the kitchen, but I'm excited about it! I love buying new appliances. And that light in the eating area has to go...it reminds me of a cheap pizza parlor or something.

My realtor, Bill, in the living room.

This is one I got off the internet, so all of the owner's stuff is still in there. We don't have to do much to this room...I actually like it the way it is! They did a great job with the molding and flooring, and I like the paint color too.

This pink room will be the guest room, but it won't stay pink.

Guest bathroom

This is what we are calling the "empty room" because I won't let anyone call it the "N" word. (aka. nursery) Perhaps it will be an "N" word while we live here, but for now, it's just the empty room. Nuff said about that.

My master bedroom, which will also get a paint job. Periwinkle blue just isn't my color.

The master bathroom...not huge, but really nice and bigger than any I've had so far!

Sorry, but you won't be able to swing on this swingset when you come visit...the dogs need their running room, so we're getting rid of it. We'll buy a nicer one when the time is appropriate. :-)

My golfing family is WAY excited about the golf course that is literally right behind the house. There are lots of walking (for me)/jogging (for Ryan) trails too, which is going to be really nice.

So, there you go. The pictures don't do it justice, but I'll keep you posted on all the changes we make. Please keep praying that nothing falls through!! :-)

I Do

Ryan and I said our "I Do's" this past weekend. No...we didn't renew our vows. But, we did vow to be the best godparents we can possibly be to our godson, Lawrence William Gazes Jr., or "Willie" as we call him. When Robin called me back in March to ask if Ryan and I would be her son's godparents, I was blown away. Of course Ryan and I discussed it, but it didn't take much for us to agree to it!

Robin, Will, and their daughter Jackie Rose were our family in Virginia and North Carolina for the 4 and a half years that we were away from ours. We have spent holidays together, traveled to the Big Apple together, rivaled over the Redskins and the Cowboys, and endured 5 deployments between us. I watched Jackie Rose grow up, so it felt awkward to not be there when Willie was born this past January. I didn't know when I was going to get to meet him, but once we found out we were his godparents we made it a point to fly to Virginia over the Memorial Day holiday for his Christening. That made meeting him this past weekend even more special.




The ceremony was so precious, and Willie was really good for the most part. He didn't fuss until the priest splashed the holy water in his eyes and nose, which by the way was some HOT holy water! It burned me when it splashed on my hand, so I could only imagine how much his soft tender skin must have hurt. Bless his little heart...he's a trooper! How can you not love him with that red hair and those blue eyes?!? He is such a cute kid with such a fun little personality already. I am so proud, honored, humbled, and grateful to have such a precious godson. I can't wait to be a part of his life as he grows up in the Lord. I also consider myself blessed that this makes Ryan and me part of the Gazes family, and now we have a bond that distance can't separate. Robin, Will, Jackie Rose, and Baby Willie...We love you and miss you already!!

"For I know the plans I have for you...plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

This has been the Thornton Theme Verse over the past 5 years as we've trusted God with a lot of blind faith through some pretty "up in the air" times. Once again, we find ourselves playing this waiting game, and it's almost funny. I say that I want to stay put in the next house that we buy and settle down a little, but I don't know if I'll know what to do with the stability! With as much moving around and flying by the seat of our pants Ryan and I have done, I know that I can trust God to "prosper us and not to harm us".

It reminds me of when we first moved to Virginia, and we were young, dumb, newly-weds, and we thought it would be a good idea to move ourselves to Virginia, with no help, and without finding a place to live ahead of time. What were we thinking!? We drove through the snow covered mountains of Tennessee...me in my Pontiac Grand Am packed so full that I couldn't see out of any windows and Ryan's truck pulling a Uhaul trailer with mattresses and a bike strapped to the top. We looked like a modern day version of the Beverly Hillbillies. Looking back, I can just see God rolling his eyes at us, and saying, "Kids these days..." and completely putting his hand of protection on us the whole way. When we got to Virginia, we rented the first apartment we looked at, and by some miracle, we were able to move in the very next day. After working for an apartment complex, I know how annoying that is.

All of this comes about because Ryan's interview went really well last weekend! He got some great feedback from the company and liked what they had to offer. They liked him too, and would've hired him on the spot if he had already graduated. Instead, they said that they will keep in touch with him until he graduates, and then he can plan to come work for them. They just can't make anything official until he has the credentials needed for them to sign him. So... It's a waiting game at this point, which I knew it would be. As positive as all of that sounds, I just find it hard to trust that he has the job if it's not on paper. It makes me nervous because I don't want to plan too much and then be let down. We can't buy a house because we don't have the "dollars and cents" of it spelled out yet, so we don't even know what price bracket we will fall into. We have an idea, but nothing set in stone. Our lease is up on August 10, so we need to have found something by the end of July so that we don't overlap our mortgage payment and rent payment more than one month. Going back to the verse...it gives me hope, yet sometimes drives me insane to know that all of these details are already worked out. God knows. But I want to know too!!! This is such a test of our patience right now, but I know that just like it's worked out before, it will work out this time.

Thanks for all of your prayers last weekend. Now, I'm just praying for patience and peace these next couple of months as we trust God and WAIT.

BIG Weekend

Most of you know that we're desperately trying to get out of Houston and up to the metroplex as soon as possible. Really, Houston is not that bad...we've gotten plugged into a great church and met some wonderful people that I would really miss if we left. I now have a great job that is a perfect fit for me, and Ryan is doing what he loves. The company he works for now is really an excellent company...great benefits, good people, lots of variety. BUT...the only problem is that it's here. So, we started researching a little bit about a company in Burleson called U.S. Underwater Services, and found out that it could be a great opportunity for us. Who would've thought that you could be a deep sea diver based out of Ft. Worth?!? Anyway, Ryan went to the President of his school to find out a little bit more, and it turns out he and the owner of U.S.U.S. are good friends. Well, Ryan doesn't even graduate with his certification until the end of July, so it's too early to be job-hunting, but Ryan mailed them his resume anyway just so they would have it. And now you'll have to indulge me while I brag on him...Ryan got a call last week to come interview with them this Friday!!! He is the only one in his class so far to have gotten a serious interview with any company. He didn't even tell any of them because he didn't want to stir things up...it can be a pretty competitive industry. So, please be praying for Ryan Friday morning at 10:00. We're both praying that it will be a good fit, and that if it isn't, we'll be happy to stay with the company that he's with now. It's truly a win-win situation, and we are so thankful to even have this option to consider. Now we just have to not be selfish about it but to trust that God will put us right where he wants us.

Unfortunatley, I can't go with him because I have to work. It's Mother's Day weekend, and it's our busiest day of the year at the store. I actually don't mind working this weekend. It's so much fun helping these men shop for their wives. Some of them bring their kids, and others are by themselves. It's really sweet to see how thoughtful some of them are. And then there are those that are just like, "Here's $200...find my wife something she'll like, and wrap it, and put this card on it." Nice...really classy.

Thanks for the prayers about Ryan's job situation. Hopefully we'll be seeing some of you in the metroplex sooner than later!!

The End of an Era

Three and a half years ago I purchased my favorite pair of flip-flops. You know when you have a pair of shoes that are so comfortable that they have molded to the shape of your feet? It's the best feeling to have those shoes that you can throw on with anything and just walk out the door. Well, this morning when I walked out the door to take the dogs out, Jack had other plans for my flip flops. As we rounded the corner, Jack spotted a very attractive female dog heading his way. He is NEVER interested in other dogs, but this black poodle struck his fancy for some reason, and he proceeded to wrap his leash around my leg three times and run in the opposite direction. As I was trying to get untangled from the leash while still keeping control of Jack, I stepped in a hole, twisted my ankle, fell down, and broke my favorite flip-flop beyond repair. In the midst of my embarassment (especially at the fact that my 15 pound dog got the best of me), I couldn't help but mourn the loss of my sweet Reefs that now lie in the bottom of my dumpster. Am I cheating on them to get another pair exactly the same??

Our Weekend

We had such a nice & relaxing weekend. The weather was gorgeous, so we took full advantage and went to the zoo...along with every other Houstonian and their 12 children. It took half an hour to find a parking spot, but once we were finally in it was a lot of fun!

Ryan's favorite...the rhino!

These tigers were actually playing...something I don't think I've ever seen! Usually, they just lay around and make me mad. Those are some BIG kitty cats!!

This little baby elephant was so cute! It is the largest Asian elephant (FYI: they're the ones with the smaller ears) to ever be born in a United States zoo. He weighed 364 pounds when he was born!!! UGH. His momma was so protective and wouldn't let him out of her sight.

Here's my favorite. Her name is Lucy, and she's an Okapi. She was so adorable! I had never even heard of this animal before, but it's a relative of a giraffe but has zebra striped legs. Don't I sound like an elementary school teacher giving you all of these animal facts that I'm sure you already know??

Ryan and I were like two kids yesterday. After we went through the children's part of the zoo, we paid way too much for some Dippin' Dots because I have to have my banana split! YUM!!!

Cheyenne, the Orangutan. She just hung on that board, chewed on her grass and stared at everybody. We couldn't take our eyes off of her!

OK, we couldn't quit laughing at this crazy giraffe that kept licking the electric fence wire with its enormous tongue. I really hope he didn't find out the hard way that the wire is there for a reason. Ouch! I remember at the Abilene zoo, we used to feed the giraffes animal crackers from the bridge and they'd lick them up. One time, I put my own animal cracker down and licked it up off the same bridge the giraffes lick on all day so that I could "be like the giraffes". It's a wonder I'm still alive...disgusting.

After we saw all we could see at the zoo, we walked around Hermann park for awhile and enjoyed the beautiful afternoon. Then we went and drove through the wealthy older part of Houston and "Oohed and Aahed" over all the mansions that we dream of but never could afford. I wish every weekend could be that relaxing and carefree!

Yao Ming, Mohawks, & Magpies

I was browsing through pictures of things I hadn't posted about, and I had completely forgotten to tell you all that I have had a revelation. I like basketball!! (As long as it's in person, or the Mavs on TV). How did I come to this realization? Well, Ryan got great tickets for FREE to a Houston Rockets game from a guy at work, so we decided to go because normal people don't turn down free tickets to anything. However, I was completely non-enthusiastic about going and begrudgingly gave up my night of watching the American Idol results show to go to a basketball game I cared nothing about. I still don't really care about the Rockets, but can I just tell you that I was on the edge of my seat for that entire game? I caught myself being so nervous and into the game that I had to make myself sit back and pretend I didn't care...after all, I hate basketball. I was so close to Yao Ming, and let me just tell you that seeing the tallest player in the NBA in person was pretty cool...even for a person who cares nothing about basketball. Ever since going to that game, I find myself actually stopping on a basketball game while channel surfing. Very weird.

Here's a picture of Yao Ming ... he would be the one that's 7'6" tall!



When we went to visit the Poe's over Easter, Matt was determined to give Quinn a mohawk with the tiny amount of "fuzz" on his head. You can kindof tell in this picture though...isn't that funny? Oh, and doesn't Uncle Ryan look cute getting him some "Q-Love" as he calls it?!

Here are a couple more pictures from our Easter weekend.

Ryan's parents in Penny's BEAUTIFUL garden. I love going to their house in the Spring because everything is blooming. I wish she'd pass her green thumb to me!!

Anybody wondering what a Magpie is? According to Webster, it is: 1. Any of a genus of birds related to jays , having black and white plumage and a long tail. 2. A chatterbox, a garrulous gossip. 3. Sarah's new workplace.

OK, so the last definition isn't really in the dictionary, but it is the name of the new store I'm working at now! I started my new job today at Magpie's Gifts in Bellaire, and I absolutely love it. It's so nice to be in a work environment that is actually pleasant and a place I enjoy spending my day. For those of you from Abilene, it's similar to Surprises. For those of you not from Abilene, picture a kindof trendy home decor, jewelry, candles, fun gifts, monogrammed bags type of store. Super cute! I'm just working there 3 days a week and every other Saturday, so it's the perfect job for this transitional time in my life...as long as I don't spend my entire paycheck there. UGH!! I prayed and prayed for God to open up a door, and just like he always does, he provided me with an opportunity that I couldn't turn down. His goodness never fails us, and I am constantly being reminded of that.

Fun-Filled Easter Weekend??

I have to laugh when I think about our trip to the metroplex for Easter last weekend. It started off with me at Discount Tire getting a flat fixed the morning we were supposed to leave. Doesn't that always happen when you really NEED your car? Well, I guess Bryan (that was the Discount Tire guy's name) was in a happy mood because it was Good Friday or something because he didn't charge me, so that was nice! Ryan got out of school early, so we actually got an early start, which was a nice surprise. Not that it mattered...we sat in traffic just trying to leave Houston for 2 hours. It only takes us 4 hours to get to Dallas normally. We were both about to go insane, and Harley had already thrown up in the back seat. We had high hopes that the weekend had to get better. After all, we had tickts to the Red Sox vs. Rangers game, and I had bought a new Red Sox hat.

Our first stop was to see the Poes so that Ryan could meet Quinn. It was so much fun to see how much he had already changed. He looked so much more like a little person after just a week and a half! Ryan and I traded off holding him for awhile, then we sadly had to be on our way. I already can't wait to hold him again!! Oh...and of course it was great to see Brittney and Matt too! Brittney...you look SO good. :-)

We got to Ryan's parents house just in time to go out to eat for dinner. While we were getting ready my brother called. I assumed it was about the baseball game we were all going to Saturday night. Like I said, the Red Sox were in town, and sorry for all you Rangers fans, but my family goes to the "Red Sox" games...not the Ranger games. We cheer for the Rangers as long as they aren't playing the Red Sox! Even though the weather promised to be cold, I had come prepared with lots of layers. So back to the phone call...Brad calls and says, "Uh...we have a little problem. Actually, it's a big problem. I bought tickets for the wrong night." I tried not to be upset or laugh, both of which I really wanted to do. He hadn't just bought tickets for the wrong night, he had bought FOURTEEN tickets for the wrong night. It was my Dad's birthday present from my brother to get the whole family together for the game. The company wouldn't let him trade his tickets, so long story short, we didn't go to the game after all. Instead, we all went to Babe's in Burleson, which is a really fun family-style restaurant. Then we went to Kendall's brother & sister-in-law's house for coffee and to watch the rest of the game in the warmth of their home. We gave Brad a pretty hard time about it, but it was all in fun. We felt so bad for him though!! At least we weren't watching the game in the snow. Can you believe we had snow in April?!?

The next morning, Ryan's parents and I got up to go to church. We left extra early because it was Easter and we knew everyone and their dogs would be there. Surprisingly, we found a great parking spot, so we knew that we had gotten there early enough. HA! We got inside and they were closing all the doors to the sanctuary and telling people (very rudely might I add), "This section's closed." I wanted to say "Happy Easter to you too!" but I refrained. They weren't even adding extra chairs or anything, so I was a little annoyed that they weren't trying very hard! Seriously, didn't they know that I hadn't gotten to go to the Red Sox game last night?!? The only seats that were left were single seats scattered all over the room, and none of us really wanted to sit alone on Easter, so we decided to go to the overflow room with everyone else who was being shut out. Trying to keep a good attitude, we found our seats among the screaming babies and badly behaving children (whose parents I wanted to strangle, but again....I refrained). It was Easter Sunday--one of my favorite Sundays of the year--and I found myself getting a really bad attitude about having to watch the service on a TV screen. I mean, all these "once a year Christians" were taking all the seats! Then, I stopped and thought. Maybe someone who had never been to church a day in their life was sitting in "my" seat in the sanctuary. Maybe they were supposed to be there instead of me. Maybe it was more important for them to hear the sermon away from the distractions in the overflow room. So, in the midst of my crazy Easter, I did have a moment where God showed me that it isn't all about me. I think I needed that.

The rest of our trip was uneventful. We had Easter lunch at Ryan's Aunt Julie's house with all of his family, and it was so good to see everyone. Our drive home was traffic-free, and Harley didn't even get sick. It's nice to know that even though our plans didn't quite pan out, we still had a nice weekend. I'll never let Brad forget about those tickets though! :-)

The Poe Family

I think I'm still in awe, but on Tuesday I got to watch "Matt & Brittney" become "Matt & Brittney & QUINN"!! The whole day was just such an amazing miracle to witness, and I was so incredibly proud of my sweet best friend. She was amazing through her entire pregnancy, labor, and now motherhood! It seems almost surreal that Brittney is a MOM, but it totally fits her. And yes, maybe I am admitting more than I should, but Quinn gave me more of a glimpse of baby fever than I have ever experienced...I didn't say a full out case of it, but definitely a glimpse. (I dare anyone who holds him to tell me otherwise! :) I'm already looking forward to seeing him again. I know he will have changed so much in just a couple of weeks. Here are a few pictures of Quinn's arrival day.

One of my favorite moments of the day was seeing Matt come out with the HUGEST smile on his face to tell us that "Q-Dawg/Q-Dizzle" (as Matt refers to Baby Quinn) was finally here!

When Molly, Shannon, and I went back for the first time, all we could do was Ooh and Aah over this precious little boy. He is so sweet!

Baby Quinn with his Aunt Sarah...isn't he cute in his little basketball cap?! I'm sure he will always be the best dressed baby everywhere he goes!

My favorite part about this picture is Quinn's perfect little lips! Aren't they precious??

The proud Poe family...all THREE of them!

On another happy note my last day of work was Friday, so I am officially on Cloud 9...No, I think I'm on Cloud 999! I feel such a weight off my shoulders even though I'm job hunting again. Ryan and I went to celebrate my new found freedom last night by going to dinner at Lupe Tortilla and then to see "Blades of Glory" which provided just the laugh I needed. There is something about watching 2 straight men ice skating together in spandex that just puts you in a good mood.