Camping!

Last week, Justin and I took a couple of days off work and headed out to Cedar Hill State Park.We've talked about going camping since we got married almost 10 months ago and finally made it happen.  Unfortunately, our carefully created opportunity coincided with a week of severe thunderstorm forecasts.  After some debate, we decided to chance the rain, packed up the tent and headed out of town.  We are so glad we did!

As you can see, Beau got to come along. He LOVED it.

After we got the tent set up, we decided to go on a little hike...

And somehow managed to get ourselves quite lost!

About an hour and a half later, we stumbled upon this outhouse.  We took this as a sign that we were getting close to the campgrounds!  Next time I think we'll pay a little more attention to where we are. :)

We eventually made it back and set about making dinner.

We ended the evening watching the sun set by the lake, seeing the stars come out, and sitting around a campfire. Ahh.

And in case you were wondering, it did rain overnight - for maybe an hour.  Did I mention we're glad we didn't cancel because of the weather? 

TGIW

Now that I am out of school for a couple of weeks, Wednesday has become a new favorite day.  That is because in this house, weekends fall on Wednesdays. 

Wednesday is the only day of the week that Justin and I both have off.  This means that it is our day to spend some time together, and we have thoroughly enjoyed it these past two weeks.  When school starts up again on June 1st, we'll have to re-think this arrangement, but for these few weeks I am loving having a day off with my husband to go on walks, ride our bikes at the lake, or even just to run some errands.  Too few people have the opportunity for days like these!

For Christmas, my parents gave me and Justin a membership to the Dallas Arboretum.  We LOVE to visit.  If you are ever in town, please let us take you!  You will almost certainly love it (unless you go in December during a blizzard like my parents managed to do).  We are becoming regulars there, and it is so impressive to watch the gardens change from week to week!  We have never seen it look the same twice but it is always beautiful.

Two Wednesdays ago, it was the prettiest we have ever seen it.  It was a gorgeous day and Justin and I agreed that the flowers had never seemed so bright and beautiful.  Unfortunately, it was also the only time I  have visited the gardens without my camera! :(

When we went again this last Wednesday, I attempted to make up for this mistake.

 

I especially love the storybook theme garden they have right now!  It's pretty adorable.  It has a series of houses, many made out of flowers, illustrating popular children's books.

  

If you are ever in Dallas, you must come with us. It is one of the best escapes within the city! 

On another note, Justin and I would love your prayers regarding this next year.  I have one more year of grad school here before we are able to move too terribly far away, and we would love for Justin to find a teaching postition to fill that time (and more if we stay in Dallas post-graduation).  I know that God will use Justin wherever he is, be it teaching, working in the bicycle shop, or whatever else comes his way. We truly believe this and are content with God's plans for him.  Until that plan is made clear, however, we will continue to pray for teaching opportunities in the surrounding districts and would love it if you would too!

I am so thankful for the supportive family and friends that surround Justin and I.  We are deeply blessed!

Bicycles, Birthdays, and Babies

Here are some pictures from Justin's last few races.  As I have said before, he is doing so well!  Justin has been blessed with many gifts and has a very passionate spirit.  This means that I frequently have the pleasure of watching him succeed in doing what he loves!

I also included some pictures from Justin's birthday... We went to a Ranger's game and had a great time, despite the unexpectedly FREEZING cold weather.  It was a good day!

This weekend, Justin and I made a spur of the moment trip to see the siblings in Early, TX.  Justin works weekends so we aren't usually able to leave town. However, we somehow both ended up with a free Friday and took the opportunity to get out of the city!  Justin hadn't seen our little nieces since Christmas and neither of us had seen Geoff and Jamie's new home, so we were very thankful for the chance to see everyone.  It was a quick trip, but we had a great time full of fun and relaxing. I think little Beau enjoyed it just as much as we did.  He is an inside dog on the outside, but an outside dog on the inside - he LOVES being outdoors and took full advantage of the opportunity to run and play with the big dogs. I'm pretty sure we brought all of the burrs on the property home with us via Beau's fluffy fur coat!  We are so thankful for Geoff and Jamie's hospitality and for Jason and Katie driving down from Abilene with their little girls.  It was just the respite we needed!

On a final note, Justin and I are celebrating nine months of marriage today.  God gave me a tremendous blessing when he brought Justin Schofield into my life, and I am so grateful.  Justin is a dream husband and I love him more every day!  Thank you to all of you who have supported us along the way. : )

Springtime in the City

Well, it appears that I am not very gifted with the art of blogging. I enjoy writing, I love taking pictures and documenting life, and I cherish sharing life with friends and family, so you'd think this would come more naturally. :) Maybe this summer I'll be more inspired!

It's about finals time here at UTD, which means that I finished up with my practicum and am wrapping up classes for the semester! I often wonder if I'll ever learn the beautiful art that is planning ahead, but until then weeks like this one will be filled with many last minute projects and paperwork! I just finished and submitted two big projects and I don't have a final until tomorrow, so it seemed like a good time to blog. (You might notice that I frequent facebook and write in this blog more when I have a lot of school things due... I have no doubt there is a connection. You may think it would be the opposite... behold the habits of the avoider.)

Life outside of school has been especially good lately. Justin raced Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday and what do you know?? He placed first in all three races, not to mention sweeping the primes! I was a very proud spectator. It is fun to watch Justin's success at something he enjoys so much.

I have started work at a private clinic here in Dallas as an SLP-A and I am really enjoying it. The clinic sees pts from about 2 years to 20 years old and I have really enjoyed the opportunity to practice my skills while learning from an experienced clinician. This job has truly been a blessing and we are so thankful that I was chosen for it!

Hopefully it will not be another month before I write again, but we'll have to wait and see! :) I'll try to include some pictures of Justin's races in the next post. Until then, enjoy the beautiful springtime weather and have a blessed week.

Our growing family

This is turning out to be a good week for Justin and I for a number of reasons. Here are some of the highlights so far!

1. Justin has been honored with his very own spotlight piece on the ACU homepage. Go check it out! http://acu.edu/ OR http://www.acu.edu/academics/cehs/programs/teachereducation/spotlights/alumni_spotlights/justinschofield.html




2. We added 3 new fish to the family! Meet Maverick, Sophie, and Watson.





3. Jana got a second interview for a potentially great job.

4. Justin participated in his first bike race on Sunday and loved it. (We think he's going to go pro, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.)

5. We finally have health insurance (which gives me at least some peace of mind for #4) - hoooraaaay!!!

6. Our sweet nieces are turning a year old on Friday!

7. The weather this week is BEAUTIFUL!!...which is why I have to wrap this up.

As I look back at this point last semester and remember being stressed about having too much to do, too many decisions to make, and way too many unknowns, I am very thankful for where we are and for weeks like this one. Justin and I are very blessed. May you all have a wonderful week full of plenty of reasons to smile!

Playing Catch Up

When Justin and I got engaged last March, we had no idea where we would be in a year's time. At that point, we didn't even know when we were getting married, where Justin would be living and student teaching, or where I would be going to graduate school. These questions have since been answered. Justin and I were married seven months ago and are now living in Dallas - not exactly the place we envisioned ourselves spending our first few years of marriage, but a place we have learned to call home. Here is a very brief recap of the last several months...

August:

Justin and I get married and honeymoon in the beautiful Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

We move into our new apartment in Dallas.

Justin begins student teaching at Thomas Jefferson High School.

I jump into grad school at UTD and begin a practicum working with preschoolers on the autism spectrum.

September:

Life is taken over by grad school and student teaching.

Justin and I paint our home BLUE on a whim.

October:

We go to Houston for Korie and Joel Herold's wedding.

We head to Abilene for Homecoming.

Justin and I dress up as chefs for Halloween in order to play some free Top Golf.

I turned 23!

Thanks to my new sewing machine from Justin's parents, I pick up a new hobby!

November:

Justin and I head to Oklahoma for Thanksgiving.

School is crazy and we are glad the semester is coming to a close.

Justin and I begin going to The Village church in Dallas.

December:

Justin graduates from ACU! His parents fly down to visit and to celebrate.

Our first Christmas together! Justin and I find a Christmas tree that fits our budget...

Justin and I go to Belton for Cocoa and Cookies with Santa and an early Christmas with the family.

Justin and I head to Michigan to spend Christmas with his family and make a day trip to Ohio to see his grandparents.

January:

We head to Belton to celebrate New Years with my family.

The new semester starts and I make the leap from preschooler to adult therapy.

February:

Justin and I celebrate our 6 month anniversary.

Justin begins working one of his many dream jobs in Dallas at Bicycles Plus.

We join a home group through the Village to find a smaller community within the church.

It snows in Dallas!!

Justin and I head to Belton for my grandparents' 75th birthdays.

We go to Abilene, where Justin speaks at the Alumni in Action Conference.

March...

Only a week in and we've already had some fun things happen... but you'll have to wait to hear about those! Who knows what the rest of this month will bring?