New Year's Update!

Hello All,

Since I haven't written since July, there is quite a bit to update! Besides the immense blessing from Grant being on days and actually being able to see each other, we have been doubly blessed by finally finding a church home. We have been attending Austin Christian Fellowship for the past 5 months or so and have come to love it! We joined an amazing small group with other couples (no kids amongst us yet!).

We also decided to try to see how we could get involved with the Creative Arts ministry at ACF...myself on the worship/drama side and Grant and on the "techy" side helping with the podcast stuff, sound, computer, etc. We'll see how that turns out as we just started talked to the creative arts director recently. ACF has been a perfect fit as we have been searching for a church with Saturday night services since Grant works on Sunday. They have two on Saturdays to choose from which gives us all sorts of flexibility.

The other "big thing" that we were able to enjoy this past fall was our trip to London and Paris (with a day trip to Belgium). The trip was absolutely amazing and we loved being able to see so many historical treasures. We also were able to catch up with my college roommate, Suzanne. She lives in London...it was SO good to see her! Although we had planned on this trip being our last hurrah before settling down and starting a family, it caused us to realize that we aren't ready for that yet...so a couple more years of satisfying the travel bug and spending time with just each other are in front of us before kids come around. That being said...the travel bug may have bitten again, and I am looking into a possible trip to Switzerland in May for our 2 year anniversary.

The biggest proponent of us travelling this year is that both Samsung and National Instruments are requiring us to take mandatory vacation. Samsung is making Grant use ALL of his 2008 leftovers (140 hours!) plus all of his 2009 accrual by the end of Feb 2010, otherwise he will lose it! That is a lot of time off for Grant. I am simply required to take 5 days in Q2 and 5 days in Q3. Because of this...it gives us the excuse to look for another big trip.
Another big accomplishment from the fall of 2008 is that I am officially licensed as a CPA! I finished all of the requirements and got my license in September!! WHOOP! Of course this doesn't mean a whole lot, it's not like my job description has changed...but I am so glad to be done with it.

For Christmas, we celebrated with Grant's family in Fort Worth for a 4 days and then headed back down to Austin for the new year. We have been extremely blessed to get to know our neighbors better during the course of the past 6-7 months. Our direct neighbors are not super friendly, but a couple of houses down there are 3 really nice couples that have been making an effort to get to know each other more. We had a block party on Halloween along with another one on New Year's Eve. We shot off fireworks, played games, and just had a really fun celebration with our neighbors. It is definitely nice to be in a neighborhood where people actually care that you live within their proximity. It seems like so many people these days don't take the time to actually get to know other people, when relationships are what make the world go round.

Anyway...I need to get going...I just felt like I needed to give a New Year's Update. Attached are some pictures from our trip to Europe! They are only ones from London as I haven't finished sorting through the Paris pictures yet...I will post those when they are ready.

Love to you all and Happy New Year!!

On the Eurostar train to Paris...

Farewell drinks with Suzanne!

Big Ben and the London Eye

The Prime Meridian @ the Royal Observatory

Buckingham Palace after seeing the Changing of the Guard

Stonehenge

In front of the flat we stayed in...17 Harbledown Road, Fulham, London.

At the Royal Observatory in London

And the Days go By...

So...the big news is that Grant has finally started days! He transfered to days a couple of weeks ago, I just forgot to update the blog! It has been such a blessing having him be able to come home at night and actually sleep in the same bed as me every night!!


This weekend for the 4th of July we are heading to Fort Worth to visit Grant's family as it has been a while since we've been able to spend any time up there. I always look forward to going up there - it's so fun to hang out with the siblings and nieces/nephews. It also helps me to get my "baby fix" and realize that it's okay that I don't have a baby to chase after right now!


As far as trip planning goes - the trip to Europe has expanded - right now the plan is to go to London, Paris, AND Rome!! I am so excited and am simply waiting for Grant to get the final approval of his time off. Right now the tentative dates are November 5 - November 21 - with the itinerary as follows: Nov. 5 leave the U.S. - arriving in London Nov. 6th. Leave London for Paris, Nov. 12th. Stay in Paris the 12th - 17th. Leave the 17th for Rome and spend 4 nights there before heading back to the states on Nov. 21st! As you can tell I've been planning for a while!!


Another accomplishment that I am proud to report is that I have been working out 4 times a week for over 3 months now! It has gotten to the point that if I don't work out I miss it - crazy, I know, but I do. I can definitely see a difference in my energy and toneness - and it's really good to be able to go to the Doctor and not have to lie when they ask how often you're working out or hang your head in shame when you say, "Well not really much at all!"

Well to all - Happy 4th of July and God Bless!!

Grant to Days!

So I haven't been that good at writing on my blog, but I will try to get into the habit!

Grant and I celebrated our first anniversary about a month ago! It's amazing how quickly time has gone by. Our little family (consisting of us and our cat, Lacy) is continuing to do well. In April, we went down to Port A for the annual Sand Castle Festival - attached are a few pictures from that short weekend. We have recently been blessed by finding out that Grant will be starting to works days on June 15th!! This is far earlier than we had hoped and we are so excited that we will be able to be on the same schedule soon...however, I think I will have to get used to sleeping with him every night!

Work has been going well for me as we are entering the busy period in the push to get the corporate tax return filed - having a presence in over 40 countries makes the tax return preparation process a big one. All of this work will definitely make me ready for a vacation in the fall. Right now, the plan is to go to London and Paris for a two week trip. I am excited about the prospect of seeing my old roommate, Suzanne as well as travel overseas. As we have been told over and over, we better travel now, before kids come along, because then it will be at least 20 years before you can travel abroad!

Well - I don't have any clever quips or other exciting news - so this will have to suffice for today! I hope all is well with whoever happens to read this blog!

Life in General

So it's a Friday afternoon and I'm anticipating the weekend! I don't really have any big plans, and that is a nice change. I feel like we've been on the go for the past few weeks non-stop. I guess that is what happens when you work all week and have to cram the errands for two days. I'm looking forward to the chance to relax and not have a schedule to stick to for the day.

As far as life goes for Grant and I, there aren't any big changes. We're still waiting for Grant to finally get to days, but it looks like it is going to be closer to July before he finally gets there. He's going to be working by himself at night until then, so please be praying for patience and endurance for him as I am sure he will be very stressed out!

Work has been going well for me. I still like my job and my hours...of course there are those times when I wonder how the heck I ended up as an accountant, but those moments pass and I find myself enjoying my job more and more everyday. I am beginning to search for outlets outside of work where I can help people more. I feel like I have a calling to do something more...I am just searching for what that is in particular. I'm sure that God will lead me to it, I just have to learn that my ideas of what he wants me to do may not be exactly what he has in mind.

I've been trying to think of ideas for vacations, as I can tell that we are starting to get the itch for one. It's amazing how necessary having some time off away from work can be for a couple. I mean we see each other everyday, but sometimes it seems like a routine develops and it's good to get away and reconnect away from all of the issues and sometimes concerns of everyday life. I went out with a friend for lunch yesterday and she was telling me all about her recent vacation to Australia, Fiji, and New Zealand!! While I know we can't afford to go there...it has definitely put the itch in me and I find myself searching for vacation ideas more and more! :-)

Until next time...

Starting the Blog!

So I've decided that having a blog is the best way to keep friends and family informed of the happenings in our life. Grant and I have been married for almost a year and it has been such a blessing. Of course there are adjustments, but they are only minor in comparison to how awesome being married is. About two months before Grant and I got married, we bought a house in Round Rock, just north of Austin. We have spent a great deal of time fixing it up, painting, and decorating our new home! It's so great to have a place to call your own.

Grant is working at Samsung and has been on nights for over a year. He has been promised by his supervisor to be moved to days within in a couple of months...it just comes down to hiring a replacement and training him before Grant can get to days...but at least there is a light at the end of the tunnel!

I am working at National Instruments and it is awesome! I love all of the people that I work with and we all seem to get along so well. I just found out yesterday that I passed the last section of my CPA exam...so once all the fees are paid, it's official...I'm a CPA!

I will keep everyone up to date of any changes/happenings in our lives.