Lately, it has become a tradition of ours to watch Joel Osteen on Sunday nights. If you have not heard of him he preaches at a mega-church in Houston, TX and also has a broadcast of his sermons. I do not know what sucked us in first...his perfectly gelled hair and winning smile or his thick east Texas accent. Either way, after Ben comes home from his Sunday night Corps meetings we usually turn it on before bed.
There is always some sort of uplifting message or a reminder of how blessed we truly are. Last night was about taking time to stop and smell the roses. All too often we look forward to the next "event" in our lives and miss the joys of everyday life. It has been said that life will seem even shorter then it already does if you live this way. This is very true in our lives. I could not tell you the number of times we have mentioned to each other how fast each semester is flying by.
Just recently, we lived from weekend to weekend looking forward to Aggie Football Games, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Our Wedding/Honeymoon, various weekend Corps events, Spring Break and now Easter etc. What about all those weeks or weekdays in between?
I forget the joy I have simply taking my dog to the park everyday or soaking up these first few rays of the spring sun. I even take living in this duplex in College Station (where all of our friends and lots of fun memories are) for granted. We are so excited about the next steps...new jobs, new town, new house...that I think we almost forget to live in the now, and enjoy this while it lasts.
So, Thank you Lord for our "Now" because it is wonderful too. Here is to living moment by moment instead of event to event.
Here is a song that has been on my heart lately: "While I'm Waiting" -John Waller
3.29.2010
3.19.2010
Spring Break Update
Although I (Jenn) have had to work all week it has been nice to see Ben when I am not working, usually we tend to miss each other with our normal schedules. We have made two road trips this week on my two days off and they were both really fun.
On Sunday, we started the week by going to brunch with Ben's scholarship donors. A man who was Class of '49 and his wife met us at Pebble Creek Country Club and treated us to brunch. He said that he always liked to meet the students he is sponsoring, and we were not going to pass up the opportunity. Besides having a great time meeting them and listening to a few Ol' Ag stories it was nice to go back to the place we had our wedding reception. As we were walking up to the Club we both commented on how weird it was that it had been two months already.
On Wednesday it was Ben's buddy, Jason's, Birthday, which happened to be on St. Patrick's Day. After I got off of work we met them at The Tap for a drink and that was an experience. It was our first trip to the Piano Bar and it was crazy crowded due to the holiday. We had fun celebrating with him!
We just got back last night (Thursday) from our Houston Road Trip which was also a blast. Our first stop was The Woodlands to see Haley & Zack's cute new house. The boys grilled burgers and we watched the Basketball Tournament for a few hours. It was nice to catch up with them a bit, we had not seen them since the wedding. As we were leaving we both realized how much we miss them and hope to trips down more often.
Then it was off to Ben's brother's house. James & Holly live in Richmond which is about an hour south of the part of Houston we were in. We hit a little bit of Rush Hour traffic but it wasn't too bad (Ben was driving). Holly made lasagna and we got to hang out with our nephew Mason and catch up with Ben's mom who was also there. It was nice to see everybody and great to be able to make day-trips down to see them.
Ben has filled the rest of his days with golfing, fixing things around the house, job hunting, tournament watching and sleep! (not too bad of a spring break). Neither of us can believe that the week is quickly coming to a close. We are looking forward to our next couple of days off which will be for Easter, we plan to make a Portland Road trip but more on that to come later. We will see what this weekend brings first.
On Sunday, we started the week by going to brunch with Ben's scholarship donors. A man who was Class of '49 and his wife met us at Pebble Creek Country Club and treated us to brunch. He said that he always liked to meet the students he is sponsoring, and we were not going to pass up the opportunity. Besides having a great time meeting them and listening to a few Ol' Ag stories it was nice to go back to the place we had our wedding reception. As we were walking up to the Club we both commented on how weird it was that it had been two months already.
Right after we had finished brunch we left for Pittsburg, Texas. Two of our great friends Adam & Claire were getting engaged that night and Adam had asked Ben to be part of a saber arch for Claire. It was an eight hour drive round trip in one day but totally worth it. Claire was completely surprised and of course said "Yes". She kept saying she couldn't believe we were all there because it is quite a drive from Aggieland. Their parents treated us to BBQ and cake afterward and then it was back on the road to go home. It made for a wonderful day off and we are so very excited for them. Here are a few pictures.
On Wednesday it was Ben's buddy, Jason's, Birthday, which happened to be on St. Patrick's Day. After I got off of work we met them at The Tap for a drink and that was an experience. It was our first trip to the Piano Bar and it was crazy crowded due to the holiday. We had fun celebrating with him!We just got back last night (Thursday) from our Houston Road Trip which was also a blast. Our first stop was The Woodlands to see Haley & Zack's cute new house. The boys grilled burgers and we watched the Basketball Tournament for a few hours. It was nice to catch up with them a bit, we had not seen them since the wedding. As we were leaving we both realized how much we miss them and hope to trips down more often.
Then it was off to Ben's brother's house. James & Holly live in Richmond which is about an hour south of the part of Houston we were in. We hit a little bit of Rush Hour traffic but it wasn't too bad (Ben was driving). Holly made lasagna and we got to hang out with our nephew Mason and catch up with Ben's mom who was also there. It was nice to see everybody and great to be able to make day-trips down to see them.
Ben has filled the rest of his days with golfing, fixing things around the house, job hunting, tournament watching and sleep! (not too bad of a spring break). Neither of us can believe that the week is quickly coming to a close. We are looking forward to our next couple of days off which will be for Easter, we plan to make a Portland Road trip but more on that to come later. We will see what this weekend brings first.
3.14.2010
Start to Spring Break
Well our Spring Break did not get off to the best start.
I had to work yesterday from 9-6 and during the first hour that the store was open, my phone was stolen...that's right...stolen. I was folding some clothes in one of our front rooms and I had my phone with me on the table in between two stacks of clothes (where I thought it was hidden rather well). When I went to talk to one of the other employees, mind you the store was completely empty at this point (or so I thought), someone swiped it. I was gone for no more then 30 seconds and as soon as I returned to the table I knew what had happened. Still I searched the whole store up and down and had one of the girls I was working with call my phone and it went straight to voice mail. It was at that point that I knew it was truly gone because I never turn my phone off and my ringer is always on.
The dread sank in as I knew I had to call Ben to cancel the service. He met me with short brief answers to my desperate pleas "What?" "Why?" "Ok" "I'll see what I can do" (he was mad...I can't really blame him though). The service was canceled and I thought I was destined for a "cheap" phone since we had just gotten Ben a phone a few weeks earlier.
However, not more then an hour and a half later my wonderful husband came into the store and handed me a brand new iPhone with a pink cover (I always wanted a pink cover). Apparently I was eligible for an upgrade so it brought the phone down to the prices of the "cheap" phones! Needless to say my morning went from yuck to yay in 1.5 hrs, thank you Benjamin. (Now I just have to ignore the teasing I will get for awhile about losing things...even though this is the first thing I have really permanently lost) Happy Early Birthday to me!
I had to work yesterday from 9-6 and during the first hour that the store was open, my phone was stolen...that's right...stolen. I was folding some clothes in one of our front rooms and I had my phone with me on the table in between two stacks of clothes (where I thought it was hidden rather well). When I went to talk to one of the other employees, mind you the store was completely empty at this point (or so I thought), someone swiped it. I was gone for no more then 30 seconds and as soon as I returned to the table I knew what had happened. Still I searched the whole store up and down and had one of the girls I was working with call my phone and it went straight to voice mail. It was at that point that I knew it was truly gone because I never turn my phone off and my ringer is always on.
The dread sank in as I knew I had to call Ben to cancel the service. He met me with short brief answers to my desperate pleas "What?" "Why?" "Ok" "I'll see what I can do" (he was mad...I can't really blame him though). The service was canceled and I thought I was destined for a "cheap" phone since we had just gotten Ben a phone a few weeks earlier.
However, not more then an hour and a half later my wonderful husband came into the store and handed me a brand new iPhone with a pink cover (I always wanted a pink cover). Apparently I was eligible for an upgrade so it brought the phone down to the prices of the "cheap" phones! Needless to say my morning went from yuck to yay in 1.5 hrs, thank you Benjamin. (Now I just have to ignore the teasing I will get for awhile about losing things...even though this is the first thing I have really permanently lost) Happy Early Birthday to me!
3.09.2010
2 Months In
After much prompting from a few people I decided to start a blog to fill everyone in on what is going on in our new life together.
2. Celebrated Ben's 22nd Birthday
4. Spent Superbowl Sunday with Ben's Buddies as usual
7. Saw two more great Friends get engaged- Congrats Michael & April (Nov 27, 2010)
8. Went to our Annual Corps Formal Dining-Out Banquet
Not to mention getting settled into our duplex, writing and sending out thank you notes, a few Aggie Basketball Games and dinners out with friends.
Wow we can't believe it has been two months already! Here is the reader's digest of everything that has happened so far:
1. We took our very first vacation together (honeymoon) on a Caribbean Cruise!
2. Celebrated Ben's 22nd Birthday
3. Saw two great Friends get engaged- Congrats Jake & Jenna (Dec 27, 2010)
4. Spent Superbowl Sunday with Ben's Buddies as usual
5. Celebrated our 1 month, 9 year, and 1st Valentines all in the same week
6. Witnessed College Station as a Winter Wonderland...real snow...not just ice.
7. Saw two more great Friends get engaged- Congrats Michael & April (Nov 27, 2010)
8. Went to our Annual Corps Formal Dining-Out Banquet
Not to mention getting settled into our duplex, writing and sending out thank you notes, a few Aggie Basketball Games and dinners out with friends.
We are currently looking forward to Ben's Graduation in May, as well as, responses back from possible future employers. We will keep you up-to-date on all our news regarding that and our everyday lives in future posts. Thanks for reading our first!
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