for dana

Pretty drives, good coffee, & lots of relaxing!

So this is a little late, but I wanted to share our weekend getaway with you guys.... Carmel is beautiful, a little weird but it was nice to get away for a couple of days. We spent all day Friday taking our time driving up the coast on Highway 1. We stopped in Cambria for lunch and coffee, and pulled off on a couple spots to take some pictures and enjoy the views. On the way up I realized that I had forgotten the directions to the hotel but thought we would be okay. I was wrong.... we got lost and it took us over an hour to find it! Both of our cell phones ended up dying on the way up and we couldn't even find a coffee shop to plug into so I could call my mom for help :) We finally found a random plug outside of a grocery store, and the hunt for directions began. I'm just saying, the hotel DID NOT have an address and when we called the hotel they told us we didn't have reservations there so we thought we had the wrong phone number. That was an adventure...ha.
Saturday we walked into downtown Carmel and walked around all day had lunch, didn't buy anything because everything was so expensive! But we enjoyed looking at all the cool buildings and just being together. It was really nice. We left Sunday morning and decided to take our time driving back. We stopped in the tiny town of Gorda for breakfast. The most expensive french toast we may ever eat :) It was fun though. Kind of felt like something you would see in a movie with the weird small town waitress and only like 5 other people in the restraunt, but we really enjoyed it! So all in all we had a really good relaxing weekend that was very much needed. We had our own little private cottage to stay in with a fireplace which was nice because it was really cold at night....
We drove through Big Sur and decided that we are definitely going back for some camping and hiking. It was incredibly beautiful! The trees up there are amazing...
Now I need to go study for my test that I have in the morning, and from there I need to study for my other test that I have next week! Yikes it never stops :)

Tears to laughter

The last couple of weeks have been pretty hard emotionally.... God is growing me in more ways than one, and of course it's painful! I am so grateful for times like these that reveal my true heart, and reveal things I didn't even know about myself! Bringing things to light that need to be fixed and dealt with. I am a selfish sinful person! I am realizing more and more as I grow and life changes, my need for Christ. Without Him I am unhappy and empty inside. I can't imagine life without Him. I'm pretty stressed out with work and school... school is hard and work is just frustrating! Trying to get through this on my own is just stupid... I will just continue to be stressed out, and constantly worrying about everything. Surrendering is often the hardest thing to do, but in the end so worth it. Nobody wants to admit failure and imperfection, but no one is perfect and everyone makes mistakes. In the end the growth that takes place is worth every tear and time of distress. I am so grateful for my relationship with Christ....

I have been pretty irritable by the people around me and the situations I am put in. Mainly at work, which is very wrong of me. I need to extend grace to people just like grace has been extended to me. I'm not perfect, I make mistakes! I think that work is a test of my patience and very humbling at times. Working in a place where no one shares the same beliefs or even standards of what is appropriate is very challenging. I am trusting Christ will change my attitude towards the people I am placed with. I want to be a light in a dark place and allow Christ to shine through me.... lately that hasn't been the case, and I am ashamed of that... I am so blessed with this job!!! We get great health insurance, it pays really well, and is so flexible with my school schedule! I couldn't ask for a better job. (well until I get my RN :) )

So I am learning and growing and am constantly in need of prayer....

my poor husband has to deal with me... but I love him more than words can explain.

Weekend getaway.....

So excited!!! This weekend with my husband, it's going to be beautiful and relaxing. I can't wait!
It will be a good time for us to spend together :) I love him....

Nice & Sunny

I went running today...yay! It was nice and warm and felt so good to get out and get some good old excercise :) Starting out kinda slow because I'm so out of shape...so sad. But working my way up! We're going to the lake on Wednesday with some people from church and we're really looking forward to it.... maybe i'll even get my tan back! I get to work tonight til midnight and wake up in the morning to go take a test! I've been walking to and from school everyday and I really enjoy it! So much better than jumping in the car and driving in circles looking for a parking spot! And it's better for you...Looking forward to not having to work until Friday and having this next weekend off! Better get back to studying!!

New Tattoo!!

It was fun, it hurt, and it turned out awesome!

Home Sweet Home

So for those of you who didn't get to see our cute little apartment while you were here, I thought I would post some pictures to show where we're living! It's nice and cozy we really like it. It was fully furnished when we moved in so we've only done some little things as far as decorating goes. We have an amazing walk in closet! I absolutely love it...there is so much extra room so I seem to keep filling it with new clothes :) We have a king size bed which is awesome...when little Beth comes over she likes to sleep right in the middle! ha She's hilarious. Our apartment is close enough for me to walk to work and school which is really nice since we only have one car. I can even walk home for dinner on my 30 min lunch break to see Kaleb! All in all we've really enjoyed it so far, and are very grateful for my grandparent's generosity. They have done so much for us!