REAL girls retreat!!

This past weekend CBC had a girls retreat for junior high and high school girls. It was so great, and I totally wish they'd had retreats like this when I was in the youth group. Sometimes to minimize distractions [ie no boys] you really just need to have a girls only retreat. It was all organized by miss Lindsee, and she did a fabulous job. She got two of her fabulous blog-friends. Shelly and Abby to come be the speaker and the worship leader. Shelly spoke on the Ephesians 1:1-14 focusing on reminding the girls that they are chosen, adopted, blessed and one more thing that I can't remember...let me know if you remember what it is. I feel these are truths that we need to be reminded of, that we don't find our worth in our appearance, a boy, our insecurities, etc, we find it in the Lord, we are His daughters. Abby was the worship leader and has such a beautiful voice, you can tell she is just earnestly praising the Lord as she sings.
Of course sweet Linds and I had to get a picture, and we even matched!!

I was the small group leader for the senior girls. They are so great, and some are so biblically wise, wiser than I was when I was their age!

This was us at the end of Saturday, a little sleepy and silly, but filled with knowledge and truth from Him!

tail gate contd'

Alas, unlike I thought, there were no pictures taken of at least my momma and me, but there was a super cute one that Karin took of Russell and I :)

The A&M vs OU weekend

This fateful weekend that we went to Aggieland to see a game, the only one of the season, and it just had to be the OU game...a game we knew we would lose. And LOSE we did. We still love our Aggies, but we aren't really that proud of their playing this year...case in point yesterdays loss to BAYLOR....Baylor people, I mean seriously! The church I grew up in, as well as the church that Russell and I are currently attending has an annual A&M tailgate. Sweet Karin and Greg Monson have been in charge since Matthew [their oldest son ] and I started school, and cause they still have two kids going there [luckily for the rest of us!] this uber fun tailgate occurs annually. This is a picture of Russell and I before the game, while enjoying conversation and BBQ :)

A very small picture of a lot of the 'kids'. And ya'll , I just have to be honest and say other than the few bunched right around me, I don't even recognize some of these people. I know they were at the tailgate, but I don't know them from Adam!

CHEESE!!! Being silly with my girls Lindsee and Kirsten :)
With my Lindsee Lou Love ;)

I am sad to say that this is it of the cute blog worthy pictures, and am also sad that I don't have any pics snapped of me and my cute padres...though I think Karin took one, so I'll have to see if I can snag a copy...

I would love to tell you that being the dedicated Aggie Alum that I am ;) I sat [cause alums get to SIT!] and cheered the Aggies on to that horrible defeat, but alas I did not. Mom and I decided that we really didn't want to go to such a hopeless game, that we got rid of our tickets and let Russell and dad go on their own :) I mean really, we just go to the football games for the socializing anyways. SO, mom, Lindsee, and I just chatted it up all 4 hours the game was going on, which in my opinion was time well spent, cause they are wise and I love em :)

surgery, retreats, and waiting oh my!

This week has been a long week of waiting on the Lord's timing when it comes to finding jobs, a house, etc. It was so apropos that last weeks sermon that we further discussed in small group on Wednesday, was on Patience. How God has patience with us and how we need to have patience with others, ourselves, and situations. Russell and I know that everything that is happening [or for us not happening] is all in God's timing, which is perfect. We know He knows better than we do, for that matter, when it is best for us to be resolving all of these situations that are currently waiting in the balance.

Yesterday Cupcake [our 4.5 month old puppy] was spayed yesterday. They heal best when they are puppies, and she had begun displaying impolite body movements a couple of weeks ago, which clued us in that it was time to get her 'fixed'. She was adorable when we took her to the clinic yesterday, just in love with everyone she met, and forgot about us the minute she got excited by seeing new people. When we took her home last night she really didn't want to sit calmly. We have had to put her in the kennel more often, or keep her in a room with just us so she will be calm. She has lots of energy and wants to play, but can't for the next week while her stitches heal. So consequently, we have the cutest little invalid puppy ever :)

Last night I had a coffee date with a good friend from growing up as well as college. Becky and I though, hadn't seen each other in almost a year. It was really fun to catch up and hear about her wedding [since I didn't get to go :(] Talk about being a wife, life, etc. It was great to just be able to talk really open with someone that knows you, this is why I love that we live where I grew up, because there are still people that live here that I know.

This weekend I am going to be a leader on a girls retreat called REAL [respect, encouragement, acceptance, and leadership] and I am really excited, I love retreats, and I love getting to know girls. SO updates an pictures will come soon, as well as I'll post ALL the pictures and stories from last weekends A&M tailgate/game!

EASY caramel filled cake cookies

This recipe is REALLY easy and tastes OH so good!

1 box devils food cake mix
1 egg
1/2 cup slightly softened butter or crisco [crisco makes for a fluffier cookie]

mix ingredients together and form doughballs slightly bigger than a teaspoon, or however big they need to be to wrap around a chocolate. Use Dove caramel filled chocolates. Wrap the dough around the chocolate, making sure you seal it well inside the dough.

Bake for about 12 minutes at 350 degrees.


Enjoy with a tall glass of skim milk so it's healthy and all ;)

busy busy

This week has been filled with lots of activities. My mom's birthday was on Tuesday, so Russell and I made her a homemade lasagna and cake, for the family celebration. Wednesday I had an interview with a staffing agency, and will hopefully find out more information this week. Wednesday evening we drove to College Station for a brief family visit, to vote, and go to the Career Center on campus. A highlight of the trip was getting to have dinner at the Blom's [Russell's military ministry boss from last year] and catching up with them, as well as getting to know the two new interns and their wives better. It made me excited to get more plugged into our church here, so we can experience community here like we did in CS. Friday night Russell and I manned the door and oohed and awed over the cute kiddos in their costumes. On Saturday my parents, Russell and headed over to Bonnie and Russ's house to paint ALLLLL day with them. By the time we left the kitchen/living room area no longer looked like a cave, and we had earned laborers to paint in our future house :) That evening we made cookies and just relaxed while watching the DRAMATIC UT vs TT game. The outcome was a shock, and I surprisingly felt bad for UT and their fans. Today our Sunday school class began a month long series taught by Greg Despres [current missions pastor, and former youth pastor when my sisters were in HS]. It was about evangelism, not the hokey kind [tracts, fire and brimstone, etc] but by forming relationships and having genuine conversations and not just trying to evangelize to people, but actually getting to know THEM and what is going on in their lives. Russell and I left really excited about getting more involved in our class and ministry. We think we might have found our niche here :)
After class, we went to a picnic with other couples from our class and enjoyed the nice summer, oh I mean November day...

Now I think I'm going to go soak my sore back [from painting] in the hot tub :)

fall is in the air!

This weekend was full of celebrations. On Saturday my church had its annual Fall Festival. It is such a great community outreach. My parents as well as three other couples cooked and wrapped 1200 hotdogs...needless to say my mom didn't want to see another hotdog for '35 years' [which is what anniversary the church was celebrating this weekend :)] Russell and I enjoyed seeing the precious costumes, catching up with people we haven't seen in a while, as well as he continued to meet people I've grown up with at church. Sunday marked the church's 35th anniversary. Which might not seem like that many years to you, but what made this year even more special is the church building debt was paid off. In 2001 they broke the ground to build the sanctuary [where Russell and I got married!] and took out about $3.5 million dollars in debt. Fastforward to Fall of 2008, with interest paid the total is close to $4 million. It was completely paid in FULL the week of the church's anniversary. Now the church has almost $20,000 a month that was going to pay off the debt, now freed up for various ministeries and projects. I have been going to this church almost 15 years. I have loved it so much, it was the church where I first felt challenged and began to make my faith my own, where I met some of my best friends, where I got married, and now where my husband and I might attend now that we are back in Houston. All in all it was great to be there for the celebration :)

Later on Sunday afternoon we went to Bonnie and Russ's house where they were having a pumpkin carving party. Russell LOVES holidays, and decorating, so this party was totally up his alley. We carved two pumpkins and enjoyed drinking cider and eating festive goodies and getting to know their friends more.
The pumpkin I carved is on the right, it is a ghost in the middle, with 'BOO' written below it, Russell's is the large mouthed pumpkin, and he did get another pumpkin so he can make another attempt at a jack-o-lantern :)

oh those Cypress loves

This week Russell and my days have consisted of applying for jobs, working out, eating, and sleeping. PRETTY boring in our opinion. So, on Thursday when both Lindsee and Jen had the day off I jumped at the chance to hang out and catch up with my sweet friends :) We had ourselves some yummy Olive Garden [since we love it, and since Grant (Jen's husband) and Russell are not the biggest fans of Olive Garden]. This was a picture that took about 5 tries to take, as we awkwardly all squished onto a bench while we waited to be seated.


This is us seated after filling our stomachs with bread sticks, salad, diet cokes, and our meals :) MMMM MMMM!

JENNY!

After our gabfest/food fest, the off-center picture this precious lady took for us.

After Olive Garden, we headed to the Martins house to see Jen's adorable niece Grace Parker. She entertained us for quite a while. She loves to dance and give high fives, it makes me want to be an aunt to be around kids like Grace :) After chatting with Cheryl and Jaclyn [Jen's mom and sister], we went back to Lindsee's house where Lind's and my cars were. We encountered sweet Dana and her people ;) at the Eddy's and enjoyed chatting with her and venting about the corruption of kids these days ;)

Later on Thursday night I was in a picture taking mood still and was snapping pictures of our almost 4 month old puppy Cupcake. Here she is nibbling on her bunny stuffed animal.

Friday afternoon we had a ball playing with the dogs in the yard, the weather was great, and Russell is a kid at heart and loves to run around the yard with them. Towards the end of the afternoon, I convinced Russell to let me shove him into the freezing pool. It was hilarious! Cupcake normally likes water, but fell into the pool accidentally when my mom had her back turned, so yesterday, while she was curious about what Russell was doing in the water, every time he went underwater and then rushed to the surface, she would run away. It was HILARIOUS!

Last night, cause we were hankering for cheap pizza and the yummy cinnamon rolls, Mom, dad, Russell, and I went to Cici's pizza for dinner. It was a yummy indulgence that I recommend for all to take every now and then :) After dinner Lindsee came over to meet Cupcake and we just hung out and relaxed.

it feels like home to me

I just realize how nice it is to be where you know and are loved by lots of people. Even though Houston doesn't have the greatest weather, or the prettiest landscape, etc, I just love being where things are familiar. Russell and I loved going to CS and seeing his family, though it wasn't nearly enough to have all the quality time we wanted with people, especially Holly, since she has that whole inconvenience of needing to be at school, so we couldn't hang out all day :)
Also while in CS, I got to see one of my dear friends Kalese. I just love her to pieces. We have been friends since freshman year, she was the first that knew about my crush on Russell, and then we lived together our Sophomore year. She got to see Russell and my relationship grow, and then we got to see her and Ryan's relationship grow. They got engaged [exactly] a month ago today, and I am blessed to get to be involved as a bridesmaid. We love both of them, and love them even more together. We had fun catching up in person and just talking about the future, etc.
This weekend we participated in a garage sale, it was fun but exhausting. Later Saturday evening my sisters and Bonnies husband came over, that was fun to see them, but then they ruined it by turning on the TX game [Bonnie and Russ went to that school].
Today we went to CBC and got to catch up with some couples we knew at A&M as well as some sweet folks we've known for a while. It was great showing up at church knowing people and feeling like you already belong.

well, we are pooped from our 4 mile run and need rest to continue our job hunt...so GN!

ps, I finished the 4th and last book in the Twilight series. It was GREAT, lots of happy endings, which I LOVE! I feel she left the series open for more books, so I hope she is writing one now :) Joelle, you better read this book soon so we can discuss!!

Home sweet home Texas!!

Well friends, the Lambert's have made it back to Texas, puppy in tow. We have been busy the past couple of weeks, entertaining Cupcake while trying to keep her hidden from the other tenants, [the landlords requested we do this :)] packing, getting Russell ready for graduation, etc. We are thrilled to be back home and near so many of our loved ones. The 14 hour drive was tedious, but Cupcake is a great car rider :) and the drive was well worth it because it means we are no longer in the middle of nowhere. Currently we are temporarily staying at my parents house while we figure out where we will be working and living. We have spent the last few days unpacking, sorting, and APPLYING for jobs!! Please keep Russell and I in your prayers that we would find jobs quickly and have discernment while searching for positions where we would best fit. We can't wait to hug and see all of you wonderful folks in Texas, so if we haven't given you a call yet, then call us, we would love to get together :)

we love you!

R&C

PS We are traveling to good ole' College Station, TX tomorrow to visit with our in-laws!!! YAY. We haven't seen them since my sister's wedding, which isn't nearly enough.

Oh, Hi O

This past weekend I got to see my lovely former roommate Joelle [Joebellina, Jo, etc :) ] It was I believe my first trip to Ohio, and it was definitely my fave. I hadn't seen her since May when Paigers got married, and we all know weddings aren't the best place to really catch up, cause you are all stressed/excited/busy.
Jo showed me around the Town of Maumee, where her family lives, as well as precious Perrysburg. It has a charming downtown main street with fun boutiques and kitchy shops. On Saturday we had wonderful Greek wraps at Zingo's, drooled over designer duds at Meigs, and were gawked at while we walked by the river :) We relaxed that afternoon and caught up on season 4 of the office and 'cuddled' on the couch like old times at the Pintail house. That evening we got cute and headed to the Docks for dinner at this great Italian restaurant called Zia's with her sweet friends. It was hilarious because I have been hearing about these girls for a while, and have seen some pictures, but this was the first time I would meet them. Jo was quizzing me the entire drive there using descriptors such as "Amber the newly-wed with short dark hair, Alissa, with cute blond hair, etc. It was fun, and I knew them all as we met. They are such sweet girls, and it was so fun to feel a connection to Joelle's life in Ohio.
Sunday we went to Jo's church, volunteered in the nursery, and headed to Star Diner for lunkfist ;)
All in all it was a great weekend that flew by too quickly, I miss my Jobell [as well as all my former roomies], so it was great to catch up and relax together like we did in college :)

I have to tell you all about my newest obsession. I love reading, and found out about a series for teens/adults. While subbing last year in College station, I always had a spare book on hand for downtime. Many of the high school girls recommended the Twilight Series [by Stephenie Myers]. They are about a teenage girl that falls in love with a vampire. I thought they sounded SO dumb, so I soon forgot about them. Well, they have been a huge hit, so before I flew to Houston, I got the first book as something to read on the plane....fast forward to now: I have just finished the third book [which I bought to keep me busy since Russell was gone in the field ALLLLLL week :( ] and can't wait for my fourth to come in the mail [amazon.com is the cheapest place to get these books]. They are so compelling, romantic, adventurous, etc. I've even read them all twice...dorky I know. I am done with my rant, but I totally recommend you to all go get these books. [PS, Joelle is reading them to, so it was great to have a discussion buddy last weekend!]

Russell and I come home in a week!!! OMGOSH!!!

and they lived happily ever after...

Bonnie and Russ got married this weekend. It was a beautiful wedding, the weather was sunny, and the venue gained power the day before the wedding, so we all stayed cool :)

My sweet hubby was able to be there for the rehearsal and actual wedding, but unfortunately had to leave before the reception :( There was a surprisingly large turnout with all the extenuating circumstances, which was great. It was a wonderful celebration for my sister and new brother, now we have two Russell's in the family! The day had its dramas as well. One of the bridesmaids zippers broke, and my mom [the quickest hand with a needle and thread] was sewing her into the dress 45 minutes before the ceremony. The flower girl repeatedly showed the audience her cute panties during the ceremony...never a dull moment. This wedding will probably be the most memorable of the family, if only because of everything that initially went wrong, though all turned out beautifully :)

I am now back in Missouri with my baby, and doing laundry, cooking, cleaning, etc. Trying to be a good wifeums and make up for leaving my baby for 2 weeks by himself...

ps I am still no good at uploading pictures to my blog. Check my FB for more :)

wedding weekend

Well, thanks all of you for your prayers and concerns. My family has had power for about a day and a half, Praise the Lord. We are ready for the wedding, I believe we have now run all the last minute errands [other than the ones that inevitably come up at the very last minute!]. The venue still does not have power, so keep praying for that. They have wired several generators so that there will at least be fans. They decided they did not want the wedding/reception to be outside because of the heat. I think we all [especially Bonnie and Russ] are just ready for this wedding to happen. Hopefully the next wedding in the family won't be so stressful!

We have had several friends of the family [Karin Monson, Jill Kendall, Diane Parnell, etc] that have been SUCH a big help. Calling people, offering to do anything that needs to be done.

My sweet husband will be here in 25 hours and I am just THRILLED! :)

C

OH IKE

Well friends, I am writing from a laptop borrowing electricity and Internet. I have been in Houston the past week and a half with my family, getting ready for my sister Bonnie's wedding, which was supposed to be this past Saturday. We obviously had to postpone because of the power outages and damage caused by the hurricane. The wedding is scheduled for this Sunday. The venue is undamaged, and aside from generators to keep their food fresh and to cook it, they have no power. The weather has been great from a cold front we got, so the plan is to go ahead and just have the wedding outdoors if the power doesn't come back. Please pray that this great weather will hold, and or that Ashelyn Manor gets its power back by this Sunday. Also, while we are just without power and dealing with the day to day struggles associated with that, we are SO lucky compared with most people in Houston. The situation and aftermath of the Hurricane is so much more extensive than we all predicted.

I am really missing Russell and can't wait to see him this weekend. He is in Missouri still finishing training. He has 3 and a half weeks of school left till we come back to TX. There is also a cold front right now in Missouri, with temperatures in the forties. This is making Russell sad because I am not there to snuggle with him :)

I don't know when I'll be able to update again, but if you see this, please keep praying.

C

Praying for Ike

I have been in Houston since Saturday afternoon. I got in just in time for my sister, Bonnie's lingerie shower. It was fun and I LOVED seeing people I know [well]. This week has been busy with mainly my mom and I working on wedding stuff since everyone else is at least working the beginning of the week. Though today, we decided we had been so productive, we would go to the outlet mall. I LOVE going to the outlet mall, especially with my mom who loves to shop [and buy presents!] I found a GREAT dress at banana and am wearing it for the rehearsal dinner. I finished Bonnie and Russ' slide show and am now gonna head out to the pool to catch a little sun before Saturday :)

On a worried note. Right now Hurricane Ike has been predicted to hit the Houston area. My sisters wedding is this Saturday morning, right when the hurricane is predicted to hit. Please pray that it steers clear of Houston and does not affect her wedding, people traveling to her wedding, or their honeymoon. All the time and money that goes into this would be sad to see all go to waste, not to mention it's the biggest day of Bonnie [and Russ'] life.

Love from Texas!

C

Take me to St Louis

Russell had a four day weekend for Labor day, so we had lots of fun adventures together.

I'm just getting to this post though, because I last minute volunteered to baby-sit for a friend from church. Something came up and she had to go out of town. I had 3 of her four kids, ages 1, 2, and 5. Needless to say, I am recuperating today. These kids don't nap and the little one doesn't stay in a crib, so I am definitely waiting a little longer before I have kids, I don't have the energy yet :)

This past weekend we started off Friday being lazy in bed and then I made Russell a big breakfast. We left for St Louis around Mid-day and went to the zoo. They have one of the best zoos around and it was free, so that's all that mattered to us :) We enjoyed seeing all the animals, the penguins especially because they are SO cute! That night we planned on going to a 'fancy dinner' to celebrate our anniversary. Our concierge recommended Annie Gunn's, a steak house. Well, we arrived, I in a pretty sundress, and Russell in khakis. We were by far the most over-dressed and youngest. Then the menu was pretty steep, over $30 for a basic meal. Apparently this is a restaurant the rich go to after tennis [literally many people were in shorts and sneakers]. We felt slightly gypped especially when the waitress didn't ask if we were there for a special occasion.
Saturday was great, we ran errands and relaxed till about mid-day. Then, Cupcake's [our puppy] breeder met us at our hotel. We can't have puppies at our apartment, so she is holding onto Cupcake till we return to TX. We took Cupcake to a park and played with her. She is just precious. Playful, curious, good with adults and kids, etc. Basically a GREAT dog, and if my mom is concerned, she's cuter than Lucy ;) Saturday night we had dinner with one of Russell's classmates and wife who was in from TX for the weekend. She was PRECIOUS! I just love meeting Texans up here because they are just another [better] breed of people. Sunday we checked out the St Louis Arch, the art museum, and even went to a cupcake bar. All in all, we had SO much fun enjoying ourselves in the big city.

I fly to Houston this Saturday for the week before my sister Bonnie's wedding, and I couldn't be more excited. I just cannot wait to see my family and friends for a whole week!

CUPCAKE!!

This Monday for our anniversary we had planned a pretty low-key eveing. Russell has to be up SO early every morning, so we just went to eat at a restaurant near us, so we wouldn't have a long drive somewhere. Well, we went to a restuarant that we were told was a little nicer, so I wore a sundress and Russell wore a button-down. We were definitely the MOST dressed up people in the place. They did have really good food though. It is authentic Italian and Greek food. We asked our waitress to take our picture because it was our anniversary, and she didn't seem excited at all. We are going to St Louis for Labor Day weekend to celebrate our anniversary for real, hopefully when we go out to eat there, they will be excited for our anniversary.

In other big news, we got a puppy! We had gotten confused on what kind of pets our apartment allows, and unfortunately puppies are not one of them. The owners of the puppies offered to hold onto our puppy till we move back to TX. She came to see us yesterday and brought our puppy so we could meet her. She is ADORABLE. She is a chocolate brown Labra-doodle. She is very outgoing, loves to give kisses and nibble on your ears [fingers, toes, etc] and currently has these precious light green eyes that my mom says will change to brown as she gets older. She will be a big dog when she grows up, probably around 60 pounds. I can handle that, as long as she still wants to sit in our laps :)

I still can't get pictures to post in the middle of my blog, so sorry about the odd placement of the puppy picture. The rest of the pictures will be posted on FB.

365 wonderful days!

1 year ago God made me the luckiest girl when I got to marry my best friend Russell Brandon Lambert. I have been Mrs. Lambert for one of many years to come. Russell has been such a blessing to me, and I believe we are the best people we can be when we are together. Our personalities and spiritual gifts compliment each others. We challenge and encourage one another every day. Everyone tells you the first year is the hardest. If this is the hardest it will be, then I'm SO ready :) Every day has been an adventure with Russell. Our ministry, Moving, the Army, uncertainty, LOVE, yet knowing it is all in God's plan for us. I wouldn't change where I am even though I am so far away from friends and family, I am with the one I was made for.

I also want to wish a happy 34th anniversary to my sweet parents. We were married last year on their 33rd anniversary and they let us use their unity candle. It was a reminder to us of how long they have been married and how wonderful they are and what we have to look for.

I want a cupcake

Russell and I, but especially Russell have been wanting a dog. I want to wait till we have a house, but that seems too far away for Russell. Most of you know my parents have a Standard Poodle [the large kind] and a Golden-doodle [Golden retriever mixed with Standard Poodle]. We love Lucy cause she's big, cuddly, goofy, and DOESN'T SHED!

Russell decided he wants a dog for our anniversary, so he began looking to see what kind of poodle mixes were for sale in Missouri. He found this website listing chocolate Labra-doodles. These puppies are really tempting bc they are a great price and in our area. This just isn't perfect timing. I'm still going to call and see if they have any females available still and check with our landlords to see what the rules are on pets. Russell and I love discussing our future children's names. We've been doing since before we were engaged. So, naturally we wanted to discuss dog names for the puppy we probably can't get. We have friends with a dog named Buttercup and others with a dog named Gingersnap. We like food oriented names. If we were to get one of these puppies we are thinking Cupcake or Cinnamon Lambert. Let me know your thoughts :)

New easy healthy recipe for chicken. I made it to go along with a homemade veggie lasagna. Which wasn't too hard, but more time consuming, Let me know if you want that recipe too.

Skillet Chicken with Tomatoes

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts halves [I used 8 chicken tenders (boneless, skinless)]
1/2 cup fat-free or low-fat Italian salad dressing
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 can [14.5 oz] Italian style diced or stewed tomatoes

In a Ziploc, combine dressing and chicken. Let marinade for 20 minutes in refrigerator.
Warm oil in skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken and sear on each side. About 5-7 minutes total. Stir in reserved marinade from bag and tomatoes [with juice]. Heat to boiling, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

This would also be great over noodles.

makes 4 servings about 160 calories per serving

Well, I am reporting back after my haircut. It wasn't so pretty. We are heading to Springfield today so I can hopefully find a nice salon to have it fixed. After almost a year of growing it out, it is almost as short as it was when I first chopped it off :(

On a happier note, I made Caramel rolls yesterday with Julie's recipe. They are AMAZING. If you are looking for a baking project, I TOTALLY recommend them. Julie uses a bread maker, which I don't have. So I followed the steps that Paula Deen uses to make cinnamon rolls, but using the ingredients from Julie's recipe.

We are off to enjoy this beautiful Saturday!

Where do we wear our emotions?

I am soo tired as I am typing this. Thursday's FIT [forming individual temples] workout is running, jump roping, and stairs [on bleachers] Well today it was SO hot. The sun normally is still behind the clouds when we work out, but not today. We had an hour of exercise in the sun. Luckily this is the last day of the week to workout :) I will enjoy my three day break.
Today, I am getting my hair trimmed for the first time in a year by someone other than Lauren. She and Jake moved, and I guess so did we. She did such a good job, I hope the place I am going can live up to the standard she set...

Yesterday I hung out with a friend I had met at fit. She about 7 years older than me and has three kids, but we still get along great. I spent all afternoon at her house, first just chatting over coffee while the kids napped, then becoming a lap for rambunctious kids after that. I really enjoyed it bc I love kids, and Jessica is just as chatty as me, so it worked well :)

Yesterday I turned on my old computer to get some pictures off of it, and the instant messenger prompt came up. I then realized it's been a year since I have signed on. The last time was the day before my wedding last year. Once I got to college I loved IM. You could keep up with friends, make plans, waste time [before facebook and blogs really hit us] and best of all, wear our emotions on our away messages. I remember putting up song lyrics that I wanted a crush to see, or a friend. Why are we so concerned that everyone knows our emotions at every moment? Now with FB you can update your status for an even wider audience to see at your every whim. I know this might seem hypocritical for me to even ponder this as I write my emotions in my blog, but I'm just curious. What ever happened to discretion or just thinking things over on our own. Are we so dependent on the world knowing our every thought and commenting on them?

hmm, ponder this while I do laundry :)

TIBB

We were introduced to the phrase 'This is Branson baby' or TIBB for short while visiting our friends Cameron and Sonia. It was really fun to have a break from our little town and see familiar faces. We drove in on Saturday morning and then headed to White Water water park. It was a super hot day, so it was great to be wet. Russell and I also were daring and rode on the super high water slide where you have a bit where you are going practically straight down. It was cute, when we left the water park, Russell said 'I'm glad I did that, or any time I saw something high, I'd regret it. I mean there were little kids doing it, I had to be a big brave man' :) We then spent some time hanging out with the Norvells just catching up and just gleaning off their wisdom. They have been married 7 years and are a bit older than us, so it was great to just hear what they had to say. Sunday, in lieu of going to a theme park when the day was already in the 90's at 9 am, we just drove on home. We stopped to run some errands in Springfield then made our way back to Waynesville.

We have officially been here a month. CRAZY. In one month I will fly home for a week to help with the final preparations for Bonnie's wedding. I am looking forward to seeing family and Houston friends.

PS Courtney, from our new cook book I have made taco bake, spinach bars, and white chicken chili, all very tasty. I made the lemon scones, they are kinda plain on their own, but good with jelly. I'm making the El Dorado casserole tonight, I'll let you know how it goes.

Recipes to come soon!

the weeks fly by

We have been here in MO for almost a month. I can't believe how fast the time has flown. Only 10 more weeks till we are done! I am still tracking people down to use as references...more on that when it is all done. On Wednesday I drove to one of the larger towns to have my fingerprints taken for a background check. This was the first time I'd done that, I felt almost shady.
Russell has been VERY busy this week, most days he's not home till 7ish and he leaves before 5 am. We are looking forward to a fun weekend. Two of our College Station bible study friends, Sonia and Cameron Norvell are the A&M Navigators [a Christian organization on college campuses] directors. They have been in Branson, MO all summer training staff. This is their last weekend before go back to CS to prepare for school starting again. They have invited us to come hang out with them in Branson. We are excited. We will probably take in a show, go to a theme park maybe, and just enjoy seeing people we KNOW!
I ordered a healthy cooking cookbook from Amazon and it finally came in [our mail comes terribly slow]. I made a list of all the recipes I wanted to make in the next couple of weeks and bought the ingredients. I have already made a couple things, and am about to go make another. I LOVE having the time to enjoy cooking :)

off to enjoy my Friday
C

whew

I am in the process of applying to be a sub in Waynesville. This is about my only job option, and nicely enough it pays WAY better than subbing in CS did. It's a good thing though, bc this application process is INTENSE. I have to go get finger-printed, contact references and send them a form, write an essay about why I want to sub in the district, etc. I have been jumping through hoops all morning trying to call, e-mail, and find references. At least I will be able to tell Russell I was busy all day :)

On Saturday, we went to Springfield, which is a BIG city compared to here. There is a Starbucks [and not just in a grocery store], a target, and a mall with nice stores. I have had a bad cold now since about Thursday. I was getting cranky once we made the drive to Springfield. When we got to the mall the first thing I saw was a White House Black Market, which is one of my favorite stores. Russell asks if going there will make my cold better. It did, well probably the cute dress I got helped too :) Now I just need somewhere to wear it to!

Convo with our Barista Nick when we got to the Starbucks [we have yet to see the mall, target, etc]

me: We heard there is a target in this town, is this true?

Nick [while giving me a weird look]: Yeah there's a target, where have you been

me: We are from Ft Leonard Wood, this is our first trip here.

Nick: Oh I see, I'm sorry. We have a mall, a target, and two movie theatres!

Needless to say, Russell and I were thrilled to learn all this information :)

I can't wait till tomorrow when I actually get to see my husband AWAKE! I went to my first AFTB [Army Family Team Building] class last night. It lasted until 10:15, which is past Russell's bedtime since he has to be up by 4 every morning. The second class for this level is tonight. We definitely learned about stuff I need/will need to know, like acronyms, chain of command, etc. I feel very uninformed, especially since we just got started, and since Russell is not active duty. It was also nice to get to chat more with some of the other wives that are here at Ft Leonard Wood while their husbands are also in EOBC [engineer officer basic course].
I was also excited to hear [from one of the other wives of course and not my hubby] that there will be a formal in mid-September. :)

I also have an update on my scrap booking, I have developed all the pictures and only have a few more pages to put together till I have scrap booked through my graduation! Woo hoo! Now I'm only a little more than a year behind...tehe.

Now I'm back to scrap booking, I will be done with this book by Friday at the latest!

Precious kid yesterday at aerobics. There is a woman that when she comes, she brings her two sons that look between the ages of 7-9ish and are too old to need to go to child care. They just entertain themselves on the sidelines while we work out. Well, yesterday, the older one got in trouble for something right as they got there, so he pouted the entire time. The younger one then had to keep himself entertained. He was dancing on the stage, sometimes with little weights, or counting us down. It was ADORABLE and such an encouragement. I bet he didn't know how many of us he was entertaining. I swear, when we have kids, they better be that cute :)

let's get a little mud on tires...

This weekend we just spent lots of time together. During the week we don't really get quality time, so we catch up on the weekends. On Saturday morning our landlord offered to let us borrow one of their atv's. We had lots of fun, got stuck in the mud, and un-stuck getting covered in the process :)
That afternoon while relaxing, we had the food network on [per usual] and were inspired by the pillsbury bakeoff to make a loaded baked potato pizza. It was WONDERFUL! We used frozen bread dough, and just plain frozen broccoli instead, and loved it. We went to the commisary on post to get our ingredients, also so I could familiarize myself with it, since I had yet to go. We found a cheap table-top charcoal grill, and so of course Russell had to have it :)
Sunday after church we relaxed and put Russell's grill together. He grilled us some yummy steaks for dinner.

Every Monday morning at aerobics is 'bootcamp' last week I didn't realize how hard it was, but today left my arms feeling like limp noodles! Whew, guess I'll be ready for my sisters' weddings :)

C

mmm!

Well today I took a [much-needed] break from morning aerobics. I swear, Stacy could be a personal trainer any day. I took my car into a dealership this morning. I took it in a couple months for an a/c problem which they fixed. We noticed it acting up again on the drive up to Missouri. Praise the Lord it is still under warranty, bc my car is all better at no cost to us :0).

I then came home and decided to be really domestic. I was watching an episode of Paula Deen's home cooking, and she was making cinnamon rolls. I LOVE cinnamon rolls. They didn't look too hard, and I had all the ingredients on hand. Well, cinnamon rolls don't take too long while you are doing the actual work, but they definitely have to rise a LOT. I started them around 11:30, and they took longer than they were supposed to for their original rising time, so I have rolled and cut them, and am still waiting for their final rising to be done. WHEW! I am taking advantage of all this free time I have to make all the recipes I've been putting off or have never attempted. Hopefully Russell and I will be able to have some self control, or we might come back from MO as new people tehe :)

With all this free time I have had, I have a LOT of time by myself. I definitely know God's purpose for me right now is to be the best wife I can be to support Russell while he's going through this intensive engineer course, but it is still hard. It's hard to not feel guilty spending money or relaxing when he is the one working all day. He tells me that is not how he feels, and it's just Satan trying to deceive me. This is probably the first time I've been somewhere without close friends around me that I can just call and meet for coffee or just to hang out, and my mom is now MUCH more than an hour away. I now have a taste of what sweet Joanna feels being so far away from her friends/family. She's been doing this for a year now and I think she's so brave.

I'm off to watch my cinnamon rolls rise...

YAY for aerobics!

This weekend was great having Russell off and all to myself. We tested out several restaurants to see which ones we will want to go to in the future. We found a good Mexican restaurant as well as good BBQ [which is a must if you know my husband :)]. We explored the surrounding towns and did a little hiking on Saturday. Yesterday we checked out Westside Baptist Church of Waynesville. We loved the pastor's message. It was on how most people don't fear God anymore through our actions [gossip, grudges, tithes, etc] It was a challenge to the congregation on an issue we believe in. As far as I know we will continue attending this church while we are in Missouri. It was exciting to find a church so quickly. We asked around to find out what sorts of activities they have for women, since I have some ;) time to fill. I was excited to hear that they do aerobics every week day morning in the gym at church. I was wondering how/where I would work out here bc there is a lack of gyms. I went and really enjoyed it this morning bc we not only got a good work out, but we also did some bible study.

I am also going to start working on my Russell/Claire scrapbook which I am like 2 years behind in. Hopefully I'll be able to catch up before we get home :) I also had a good catch-up conversation with Courtney which was refreshing.

I also got to bug my Oldest sister Adriana for more information on what her engagement ring looks like. She is now officially [she has a ring now] engaged to Matthew as of this past Friday night. My sisters are getting married only a few months apart, Bonnie this September, and Adriana this December or March...it's CRAZY! We are now almost all married :)

I'm off to make dinner and wash dishes WOO HOO!

C

Welcome to the glamourous life of..

Dishpan hands!

What a gross term, but that is literally what I had friends. We have settled into our quaint, furnished [re: we didn't have to haul furniture here!] apartment, complete with a 3rd story deck with a beautiful view. Its only drawback is a lack or a DISHWASHER. I broke down yesterday and went to wal-mart for like the 5th time and bought rubber gloves and a bigger dish-drying rack. Those gloves are saving my hands, I don't know why I didn't get them sooner.

On Wednesday, before my mom's flight, we explored the cities surrounding Devil's Elbow. Other than lots of driving, we didn't see much. The biggest claim to fame in the sprawling metropolis that is [not] Rolla, there is a new Panera and Drury College. Everything else is pretty run-down. We then went to the closer town, Waynesville, where Praise the Lord there is a Starbucks and two cute Baptist Churches that we will test out this Sunday.

Yesterday was a VERY long day that I had to myself. By 11 am I had cleaned the entire apartment including bathroom and done laundry. Russell had meetings until 8 at night, so I definitely had some time on our hands. We no longer had Internet to borrow, and no cable till today, so I read A LOT. Today was better though bc we rented some movies for me to watch while I waited for the cable guy to come. Sydney White is a hilarious movie, I recommend it. :)

Russell should be home in 3 hours and then he's free till Monday!!!

Devils Elbow

Russell is so stoked about the name of the place we live. Devils Elbow is a little town near Ft Leonard Wood. Our apartment is located at the top of this winding gravel road that makes you feel like you are driving up to a cabin in the mountains in Colorado. It is a little nerve-racking at first to drive up and down from the apartment, but I am adjusting quickly. Russell on the other hand every time we go up and down drives really slow and states that is the speed I should be driving. Sometimes he can get SO worried.

Yesterday Mom and I went to the visitors center and then drove to what was supposedly a park where you could hike. We finally got there, and found nothing more than a gravel road and very thick forest on either side. We were slightly disappointed, and ended up just going back to my apartment. There we hiked around the apartments and to this overlook that is very high over a river. It was beautiful. Russell and my landlords are the sweetest people. Brian and Lisa Brown own the apartments as well as a woodworking business. Brian gave us a tour of his shop and showed up replica German steam trunks he is working on now. Then Lisa gave us a tour of their home. The made all the wood floors, cabinets, most of the furniture etc. It was gorgeous, especially with all the detail there was in their work. If you ever have to live in or near Ft Leonard wood, you should live here. :)

Today is the day my mom leaves. I am pretty sad bc I am by myself most of the day. Russell leaves by 5:30 or earlier in the morning, and comes back over 12 hours later. I am still hoping to find some kind of job or volunteer work, or I think I will go stir crazy by myself everyday...

Tonight we are going to a meeting with Russell's comander and his wife to learn more about what the next three months will look like, I'm hoping it will go well and that I will get along with the other wives, so I can have friends up here...

We are lost in the woods

the 4th of July




me and sweet Holly in CS



We love the Gardners!



Whew! The last week has been eventful for us. We had a really nice trip to CS to visit Russell's family and see a few friends. Seeing Drew, Jen and Buttercup Gardner was really fun, and we look forward to when we get to meet up with them in Branson while they are there with her family in August. We went to Sweet Eugene's, one of our favorite coffee shops in CS. It was crazy how a place looks and smells can bring back such memories of the past 5 years. It was a place of many of Russell and my dates, many hours were spent 'studying' [people watching :)] and many a java shake was imbibed with great friends like Paige and Courtney. I will miss living in CS, but really I will mostly miss the relationships that were formed there.

On the fourth we had a great last hurrah with the family. Russell's family came to Houston, and we spent the day at my parents house. We had fun in the pool and had some great BBQ. the girls and the boys were there, the Busch's stopped by [sans Sarah and David :(] and Matthew's parents[especially dad] entertained us that evening. The night ended with us watching while the 'three amigos' Russell, Russ, and Matthew, set off a menagerie of fireworks in the middle of the street moving often and hilariously when cars passed.

We had a last brief visit with our fave CS house guest, Lindsee, when the proud 'mama' came by. She is the newest owner of a SUX [sport utility crossover, coined when Sam said her vehicle sucks...tehe] She has a pretty red rogue that we admired while saying our goodbyes.

Sunday we left Houston at 6:30 am and set out on our 12 hour drive to Ft Leonard Wood Missouri [more specifically Devils Elbow, MO]. My mom came with us to take turns driving my car, and to help us get settled. We finally made it to our apartment around 8 last night. Today my mom and I went to Wal-mart twice and unpacked everything. There is NO Target or any nice place to shop around here...I guess it'll make spending self-control easier :) Tomorrow my mom and I are going hiking. I am enjoying having her here to help us get settled in, as well as keep me busy these first few days while I adjust to life here.

I feel slightly guilty because our Internet has not been set up yet, though we have already paid. We 'borrowed' our neighbors Internet, and their Internet name is "Amber and Ryan's Internet" It makes it worse to borrow Internet from people that are cute and name their network after them....


spell check corrected the 'i' in Internet, apparantly it's still a proper noun.

6 days and counting

It is so good to have Russell back, but life must still go on. It seems like we have so much to do before we leave on Sunday for Missouri. I know it will all get done, but I am a worrier, while Russell is the laid-back. Right now we are fighting that battle of jumping through army hoops to receive approval to look for housing off-base. Yes, we have 6 days till we will be in Missouri, and still no place to live. Luckily since it is a base town, apartment complexes are used to short notice and very short-term leases. I swear we used up half our wireless minutes waiting on hold today...oh well. Que sera sera.
Right now we are in College Station. It is so nice to be able to catch up with Russell's family. Now that we don't live in town, I feel that it is easier to spend quality time, because we have to make that effort, instead of just dropping by. We will also hopefully get to catch up with a few of our friends that are still in town, which will be nice because this will be our last chance for a while. I am also looking forward to the 4th. My parents are hosting a going away pool party for us. Russell's fam, my sisters', their boys', as well as a few family friends will be in attendance...pray for NO RAIN!
Last night I went for a run with Russell. I forgot how much I miss doing [or at least having the option of] everything with him. We love walking/running together. We push each other to go past our limits, and we just enjoy the time together. Also, as [hopefully in the near future] home-owners, we love to look at homes and critique them :) We discuss what we want and don't want, realistically or in dream-land.

Enjoy the time you have with your family, I know I am as we are about leave close proximity to them for a few months...

HE'S HOME!!

My sweet husband came home today! It was a joyous reunion. And yes, I did just see him two weeks ago, but now he's with me for more than just two days at a time, so it made it all that much better :)
For lunch I got to go see my favorite bear [Blaire Bear]. We met at her chic apartment the Bel-aire, then moseyed over to cafe express. mm mmm, sweet potato fries! I then stopped by Mandy's house for some much-needed catching up. It was a day filled with great friends. All the while I have been waiting for a call from Russell telling me when he was leaving Oklahoma to begin the 7 hour drive home. He FINALLY calls around 2 and tells me he's in College Station! I was surprised and elated. I thought I wouldn't be seeing him till tonight, especially since he hadn't called me all day.
The poor guy rolls in around 3ish and hasn't eaten lunch or slept the previous night. So I give him some food and get him to bed for a nap. Then this evening we, the parents, and Adriana and Matthew enjoyed some tasty food at Los Cucos. I recommend the stuffed avocado.Russell is pooped and in need of real sleep. I couldn't resist checking my e-mail, and I got one from the Vera Bradley site. They have FABULOUS new fall pattern that I'm already in lust with ;) puccini. I think the name says it all :)

GN!

PS, while waiting for Russell to get home, my MOL Mary Alice calls and says she saw Russell for the 5 minutes he was at the gas station in CS. She took several pictures and e-mailed them right to me. I'll post them later. It was precious though cause she said, I'm sending pictures of what your adorable husband looked like 5 minutes ago, and what you have to look forward to :)

"I'm happier than a June bride on a featherbed"

It seems my body has had enough sun this summer. Every time this week I am getting ready to go outside, it starts to rain. Today, my oldest sister Adriana had come over to our parent's house [she's a teacher and has summer off :)]. I had convinced her to go play in the pool with me. We were all suited/sun screened up, and then the lawn guys got there. Foiled for 45 minutes. We then get outside and get on our pool floats, and within 7 minutes, the thunderclouds and major wind roll in. It then rained on and off the rest of the day. BOO!

I have recently become a spider squasher. In the past I have been known to run, scream and/or cover bugs with bowls. Today and Sunday I did not have that option as the spiders were too quick to leave unattended, and I was all alone both occasions. If you live or have lived in Houston, you are probably familiar with GIANT wolf spiders. They love to terrorize homes following large rainstorms. Hence, two in the house in one week. I can't wait for my husband/resident bug killer to get home :) Or I'll have to move in with Paige and Jason [though I don't think they'd like that]. Paige was the resident bug killer when we lived in the Pintail house. I remember her almost being overjoyed the one time we had a roach in our kitchen.

While sorting through old pictures and watching Paula Deen on the cooking channel, she said this while eating something delicious and fatty. "I'm happier than a June bride on a feather bed" This quote tickled me and I thought it should be shared :)

mmm!

Ok folks, so for those that know me well, you know I am not so fond of the dentist...well getting my teeth cleaned. I never have been, though there is really no specific occurrence that has made me what I am when I am in that chair. WELL, today, I had my teeth cleaned without any tears...I know. Pathetic that there ever were tears, but I think we have moved past that phase of my dental fears :) And now I have squeaky clean teeth, better for kissing [Russell said this]

In other news, my sister Adriana cooked a feast tonight [really cause her bf was coming to dinner and I think she's trying to prove her wifely abilities]. Part of that feast was this ultra-simple bread that my mom kept saying we needed to try. It is 2-ingredient beer bread. I thought I'd share the recipe, bc it's SO good and SO simple!

Beer Bread

2 2/3 cup SELF-RISING flour [this is important]
12 oz freshly opened beer [you choose the flavor]

1. Heat oven to 375 and grease a bread loaf pan.
2. Put flour in a bowl, add beer and stir until flour is completely moistened.
3. Scrape batter into pan, and bake for 50-55 minutes until lightly browned.

GN! [goodnight]

ps RUSSELL comes home in 3 days!!!!

Whew, I am still full from all that food we ate at the melting pot last night. We liked all the food, but the cheese and dessert courses were the BEST. Food is a bit pricey, but SO worth it :)

Before the Melting pot, Linds and I went to HFBC [Houston's first baptist church] night service. It was so good hearing Pastor Gregg preach. I love his messages every time I go to first, just like I loved them when he was the Breakaway speaker.
His message focused on God's provision in Exodus when Moses was leading his people out of Egypt. It was a neat picture he painted, saying that most of us don't need our physical needs met, like with Manna, or water from a rock in the desert. Jesus us faithful to provide everything we need in His PERFECT timing.

John 6:35 "Then Jesus declared 'I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty."

This was good to be reminded of, since Russell and I will be moving to Missouri in less than two weeks, with no idea where we will be living, what I will do [job-wise] while there, and what jobs we will have when we move back to Houston in mid-October. We know God is faithful, just as He has been all along the way.

Sunday mornings message preached by Pastor Dave at my home church, Cypress Bible Church, was also great.
It was about Fighting Uncertainty, which I think we all face everyday, no matter how big or small. He focused in Ecclesiastes 3 where scripture states there is a time for everything. Two points he made that I loved the most were "See your work [and everything you have] as a gift from God. I normally wouldn't think of work as a 'gift', but it is. It is there because we are needy people. The other was that 'God has put beauty in everything' [v 11a] He makes things beautiful and appropriate at the perfect time.

Saturday morning I had the pleasure of attending sweet Lauren Rugh's wedding shower. I still remember my freshman year of college, when she visited me and slept on a mattress on the floor of my dorm [before choosing to go to the other school ;)]. She and Jonathan [her now fiance] had been dating for a few months, and she really liked him. I had no idea how the relationship would end up, because she was only a senior in HS. Though the Lord soon showed us how wonderful the two were together, and now they are less than two months from their marriage! It has been exciting to know her over the years and get to see her heart and passions. I am very excited for these two :)

Whew...I have never texted so much as I have the past 6 weeks. It has been my main form of communication with Russell, especially the last 3 weeks. I will be so glad when we are not miles apart and can see each other more than we have to talk to each other on the phone, or via texts.

I want to thank all of you who have prayed for us and encouraged us through this time apart [though we still have exactly one week left]. It has meant so much to us to have the support and friendship from everyone. God has blessed us so much with wonderful families and friends...and DISTRACTIONS ;) With all the weddings, outlet mall/galleria shopping trips, cooking/baking, laying by the pool, monkey in the middle, going to the gym, great family time, planning my sister's wedding, etc...the past 6 weeks have flown. Even through the sad times when I REALLY missed Russell and would cry with little or no provocation. I would never wish it on anyone to be separated from their spouse, but it does grow you closer in your relationships with God and your spouse. God has taught me that I cannot fully depend on Russell. Though I love him, and he's the perfect match for me, he will never be perfect. None of us are. I think the past 10 months I have been in newly-wed lala land, and wanted to depend SO much more on Russell than I should. Yes, he's my husband, but the Lord is who I should depend on first.

Isaiah 61:10 "I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness..."

Mark 12:30 "Love the Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul with all your mind and with all your strength."

It's crazy when you think about how much you love your mom, your boyfriend, best friends, even your husband/wife. We have been called to love our creator God even more, and He loves us just as much...this thought blows me away.

On that note, I'm off to eat some hommade cake :)

This is the start of something...

Well, several of you have been hassling [I mean politely asking] when I will join this new-fangled blog-land. Well, after lots of sun at the beach with Lindsee, and missing my husband...I succumbed.

Just an intro and refresher on what has been going on in the Lambert's life in the past almost 10 months since we have been married.

We lived in College Station for our first 9 married months, while Russell finished up his last semester of college. He was also interning for Campus Crusade for Christ, specifically with Military Ministries. He/I worked with cadets [from the Texas A&M Corps]. I helped co-lead a female Bible study, and he met with and discipled many guys throughout the school year. I was also subbing almost full-time throughout the College Station school district. And friends, let me tell you...9 months of subbing is DEFINITELY all you need in your life :)

We stayed involved at the church we both attended during college, Grace Bible Church, though we left the college class, and joined a Newly Weds/Young Marrieds class. We LOVED it. It was such an encouragement, and we met so many friends of all ages and stages of life/marital wisdom. I encourage all of you married folks to get plugged into a church/Sunday School class. We also joined a Bible study, which led to some wonderful friendships, that made it all the harder to leave College Station this past May... :(

May 10th Russell left to report to Ft. Sill in Oklahoma. He has 7 weeks of training, called BOLOC II [the first one he completed 2 summers ago up in WA]. He is in the beginning of his 6th week. I unfortunately was not able to go with him...they think wives would be a distraction or something...go figure. Since the school year was coming to a close, I decided to leave around when Russell left. I first went to Ft Worth for my sweet Paige's [a college roommate] wedding to Jason Dunn, then went to my parents home in Houston. I have LOVED the time with my family, especially my mom, as I am the baby of the family. I was blessed to be able to visit Russell now twice during the past 5 weeks, which made the time apart much more tolerable. Also during this rest at home, my sweet sister Bonnie and her man Russ [yes that's right, there are going to be TWO Russell's in the family] got engaged. Since I have wedding expertise [ ;) ] , I have been helping her and my mom wedding plan for her wedding this December. I have also enjoyed spending time with my oldest sister Adriana, and her goofy man Matthew [phew...not Russell!].

Russell will be returning from OK in 11 days! [June 27th] We will then spend that week between CS and Houston with our families, and packing. Then we will make the long drive to Ft Leonard Wood, Missouri. We will live there for 3 months while Russell finishes his BOLOC III training. [Praise the Lord that I am able to go with him!] More details on what life will look like up there...when I find them out :)

Whew! That was a long post, especially after a long sun-filled day at the beach with my sweet Lindsee....

love y'all