2 Years L8er

Well on my TimeHop today I noticed there was a post about the blog I had started about two years ago. I decided to log on and take a look. My poor blog looked sad with only two posts! So here we are!

Since the last post I wrote:
-we got a cat
-we have moved (twice!)
-Paul graduated
-Paul got a new job and then 8 months later was offered a transfer when they shut down his previous yard
-I started subbing, and now I'm nannying (seriously the best job ever)

When Paul was offered a job with an oil company after graduation last year, we bought our first house in Cordell, OK. I'm sure 99% of people have never heard of that place and that's because it's teeny tiny and way out in Western Oklahoma. It was a cute little two bedroom, one bathroom house that gave us our first taste of home ownership. (Let me tell you- dealing with things like frozen pipes and broken gates is not fun!)

Little did we know, we would only live there about eight months before Paul's yard where he worked was closed (the price of oil really does effect everything.) Thankfully he was offered a transfer to Yukon, OK. We were both super excited! By the grace of God we were able to sell our house quickly and move to an apartment in Yukon, where we now reside. We are less than 10 mins away from the outlet mall in OKC and practically 20-30 mins away from everywhere else in OKC. :) It's definitely much different than living in Cordell, where you had to drive 45 minutes to go to Walmart! It's also nice to be only about two hours away from our families. Shoutout to Levi and Audrey- cutest nephew and niece in the whole world.

Paul's been working super hard lately. He's put in a lot of time away and long, hard hours. Before I had even started looking for a job, a woman sent me a message after viewing my care.com profile and asked me to interview with her and her husband. It's crazy how that worked out and now I'm nannying on weekdays for a sweet little family with their three year old named Sierra. I love it!

Last night I made crockpot spinach and artichoke dip. It was pretty good. Here's a link to the recipe in case any of you dip lovers out there would like it. I also made steaks on our stove. We ate steak practically every meal when we lived in Cordell. Now that we are back to apartment living, my parents are storing our beloved grill for us at their house. I don't think I've ever had steaks from a skillet before. I also sautéed some onions to top them off- they were pretty darn delicious!! I paired with mashed potatoes and a mixture of roasted carrots and asparagus- YUM! Notes for next time include: get a better cut of meat (i.e. filet) and take the smoke detector apart before beginning. This method produces A LOT of smoke. Rosemary garlic butter steak recipe.

Until next time (who knows, maybe two years later..)

Bring On Fall!

Hello.
Well, I thought I'd be writing more on this blog but after working forty hour weeks, all I want to do is sleep. My days typically consist of waking up between 6 and 6:30, getting ready, and getting to work by 7:30, so I can make copies and make sure my classroom is ready before I clock in and get my kiddos. I'm now in a classroom teaching Private Pre-K and I have ten older four year olds. I enjoy it, but it sure does keep me busy! When I get home, usually between 5:00 and 6:00, I change out of my school clothes and sit on the couch to unwind. Paul and I will eat and then I go to bed usually before 9:00. I'm definitely at grandma status, although both of my grandmas stay up way later than I.
Last weekend, I met my mom, sister, grandma, aunt, and nephew in OKC at the outlet mall. It was wonderful to see them. I never knew I'd miss my family so much! I mean, I knew I would miss them, but I find myself often daydreaming of the next time I'll see them.

This weekend Paul and I got tickets to the OU/Tulsa game in Norman from our friends. We left Friday as soon as I got off work and headed to Edmond to stay with our friends and then we woke up early Saturday to check out Campus Corner before the game (and go to Starbucks a couple of times...) It was a great time. However, I didn't get anything done until tonight. I was worn out today after church, so Paul and I both took Sunday afternoon naps. Paul fixed omelets with leftover roast beef (the best kind of omelet) for dinner. I just now finished cleaning up the kitchen, picking up the apartment, and vacuuming the place. Now instead of working on my lesson plans for the week like I should be doing, I'm writing a blog post. 

Alright, off to work on my lesson plans and weekly parent letter. It's almost past my bedtime!

The Last Two Months- Our First Two Months as Husband & Wife

The last two months have been the best two I've ever had. Have they been perfect? No. Have we experienced some hard times? Yes, but there's something about having your best friend to be by your side for the adventurous journey of marriage and adulthood.

**This was taken on July 4th. The shirt is special, because it quotes the verse that my grandma, Anna, has drilled into our brains since we were very young. "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God." Matthew 5:9 NIV. I saw these shirts from Tiger's Den, and naturally we all had to get one. See Tiger's Den in Fort Gibson here.

Paul and I got married on May 16th, after dating for about four years and waiting until I graduated from college. We decided we wanted a small, intimate family wedding and to have a large reception when we got back from our honeymoon. Although both events ended up being more extravagant than either of us had planned, we had a WONDERFUL wedding, gathering afterwards/send-off, honeymoon, and then reception. I couldn't imagine anything more perfect. Both my mother and mother-in-law (and their armies of helpers--- thank you all again!) went out of their way to make these special occasions absolutely perfect.

On May 28th, we moved to an apartment in Stillwater. Wanting to get the whole "newlywed package", we chose an apartment that we could look back on one day and laugh at together. Okay, okay, it's not that bad. I actually have grown to love our little apartment. It has it's flaws, but we make it work. I'm pretty proud of myself for hanging up the curtains in the living room myself while Paul was in class one evening. Just don't look too closely. ;)

For about the last month, I've been job-searching. I still haven't found anything, but next week I have two interviews that I'm really excited about. Since Paul still has one year left before graduating, the plan is for me to be the bread-winner until he obtains his degree and is able to take over. 

Next week is going to be a big week for us. It's Paul's final week of summer school, we get to see his parents for the first time in months, it's the FIL's bday, I have interviews, and Friday we get to head down to Frisco for a weekend of the annual Kent family vaca... where Sunday will be one year since our engagement down at The Westin Stonebriar. 

I would have posted more pictures, but I only have pictures of the actual wedding ceremony. The large reception pictures are on a thumb drive with my sister. 

Special thank-yous to Amy for our engagement pictures, Cassidy for our wedding/family reception pictures, and Aunt Cindy for pictures at each of the showers and large reception. 

To our families, we miss you all and thank you for sharing basically the whole month of May with us, and for making it perfect. 

Tootles.