New House...New Camera?

Well, I met Molly, Brittney & Quinn in Southlake today, and I was reprimanded for not having posted any pictures of what we've done on the house so far. My excuse was that I hadn't unpacked my camera charger until 2 days ago, and it was out of battery. So, I came home right away and started taking some pictures. I got through the guest bedroom, part of the master bedroom, and started on the master bathroom when CRASH...yep, I dropped my camera right on the lens on the bathroom tile and broke it. So, I managed to download these few pics before I threw my camera away. I'll go buy a cheap camera later and finish the "photo tour" of the house, but for now this will have to do. Oh, and the pictues I did get don't really do it justice. Oh well, here goes...

This is the guest room before:

We painted over the pink, and here it is now...

We also got rid of the lovely "periwinkle" in the master bedroom...

NOW...

You can see a glimpse of the aqua we painted in the master bath. That's the only shot I got before I broke the camera. :-(

So far we've laid wood laminate in 2 rooms, changed out all of the baseboards in the living areas, painted 5 rooms, installed a new fridge & dishwasher, and done lots of tedious "fixing" that needed to be done. Next step is putting in new lights in the entry, dining, and kitchen. After that, I'm afraid I'm going to be "cut off" before I can get new countertops. Until then it'll just have to be a work in progress. We really love being in a house again though, and it's great to be so close to everyone! Ryan hasn't gotten to enjoy it much because he's been out of town Monday thru Friday 3 weeks in a row. His new job is just about as crazy as the military was as far as travel goes. At least he's SAFER than in the Marine Corps days, so I can't really complain. OK, I'm off to justify buying a new camera!

Consider me Tagged...

O.K. I was tagged by Tiffani to do this at least a week and a half ago (I haven't forgotten!), but seeing as how I'm finally not living out of boxes and I actually have internet, here you go...

The Rules:
1. I have to post these rules before I give you the facts.
2. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
3. People who are tagged need to write their own blog (about their eight things) and post these rules.
4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
5. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

8 Random facts about me:

1. I am DEATHLY afraid of sharks. No, not just a little scared...I'm talking full out "selacaphobia", which is a clinical fear of large sea creatues. I can't look at a picture of one in a magazine without having a panic attack, much less watch a documentary on Shark Week or see a real live shark. Cartoon sketches are okay as long as they're "cute" sharks and not scary ones. I've stooped so low as to walking through an aquarium with my eyes closed and holding my mommy's hand when I was in high school. I've also passed out in the shower while listening to the water and imaginig a shark while I was washing shampoo out of my hair. Yeah, it's ridiculous. Did I mention that my husband scuba dives for a living?!?

2. I don't know what I want to be when I grow up. Seriously, I graduated college over 5 years ago and couldn't tell you what on earth I "do" for a living. We've moved so much over the past few years that I've always just plugged in and found something to do wherever we were. I am a free lance pianist/piano teacher who wants to open up a gift store all while being a real estate agent and staying home with my kids once we have them. Hmmm...I'm a little confused.

3. I am a "Ross-Stalker". Actually, I'm a Ross/Marshalls/TJMaxx/Tuesday Morning Stalker. I love bargain shopping, and I have been known to watch an item over the course of a few months to see when it goes on clearance. This may require hiding the item somewhere else in the store so that no one else gets it before me, and then going back repeatedly until either A.) I can afford it, or B.) it goes on clearance. I'm pretty much obsessed with it, and I attribute it all to my mother-in-law and my Aunt Julie. They are the QUEENS of bargain shopping!!

4. I love my puppies!! My two Jack Russell/Rat Terriers, Jack & Harley, are "people" in our house. They each have their own voice that Ryan and I have created for them, and because of that, neither one of them can say their R's very well. We have tried at least three times to get them to stop sleeping in our bed, but they finally won. When we moved into this house, we didn't even move their dog beds in. Instead we bought a bigger King-sized bed for all of us to share. Actually, they don't share...Ryan and I get the 1/2 of the bed that they aren't sleeping on. People tell me that this will change when we have children, but I'd like for someone to tell Jack and Harley that!

5. I love making lists. I make lists of things I've already done just so I can check them off. My family makes lists to occupy time on long road trips. We'll get out a sheet of paper and just start listing cars, or hotel chains, or restaurants, or cities in Texas. My brother and I used to make lists of all of the professional sports teams, and we would categorize them into their appropriate division. I could still probably name all of the MLB, NFL, and NBA teams and their divisions off the top of my head...thanks to making all of those lists with Brad! We're nerds. Ryan has not bought into this family tradition as much as I had hoped.
(FYI: There is a book called The Book of Lists. I should've written that book!)

6. I have many Obsessive-Compulsive Behaviors, but to name a couple: I type all the time...I type things that I see on a billboard, hear on TV, read in a magazine, think in my head...I type ALL THE TIME. I usually just type on my leg or the steering wheel or the table. I even backspace and fix it if I make a mistake because I'm too OCD to let it go! I also play the piano constantly. If I hear a song on the radio or in church, I try to figure it out and play it. A lot of times I make up my own part that would sound great if I was playing on a real piano instead of my leg! They're both just second nature, so I don't even notice it much. Sometimes I'll be holding Ryan's hand, and he will think I'm being sweet tickling his hand, but I assure him that I'm just typing or playing the piano! :-) Weird, I know.

7. I have cut DOWN to only 2 Diet Cokes per day. At one point in my life, this would have seemed impossible. If I had an IV of Diet Coke, I would be happy, but then again...I hate needles and pass out when I see them. (Does that fall under the OCD one before?) When I cut down to 2 Diet Cokes per day, I lost 7 pounds in 2 weeks. Amazing.

8. I am part of a Hardin-Simmons University cult that started in my family a long time ago. We seem to think it's the only place to find a spouse. I tried to be different and go to TCU instead of HSU, but after one semester I was sucked back in. My grandad went there and later taught there and met my grandmother there. My parents met there, and now my dad works there. Ryan and I met there. My brother & Kendall met there...and the list goes on 20 family members long. For a small Baptist school in West Texas, that 's a pretty long list, but I'm very proud to be on it.

OK, so there are my random things. I tag Robin, Andrea, Laura, Mav, and Brittney (although I think she's already been tagged) I know that's not 8, but it seems like everyone else has already been tagged, so if you haven't, consider yourself "it"!

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!