BFFs.

Once again, it's been forever since I blogged. Our summer is just too busy!

Last week, four of my best friends from college came out to visit from Missouri. It was so great to catch up, and we had the best time hiking in the mountains, drinking wine in our hot tub in Breckenridge, and just giggling at dinner downtown. I'm so glad they made the trip out and am so thankful for each of them.

Mike was a real trooper and was extremely patient with us and the high levels of estrogen that overloaded the apartment. (Read: bras and clothes strewn about the apartment, 5 cosmetic bags in the bathrooms, and countless exclamations of "Mike, don't come in here right now!").

After church on Sunday

Breakfast at Snooze

City Park Jazz

Hiking Silver Dollar Lake near Georgetown

Next post includes THREE 14'ers :)

Peace, love & good friends.

Wrapping Things Up.

It's my last week with the Polar Program, and I have so many mixed emotions about it. I am so thankful for what this job has done for me, yet I feel deep down like it's not the right place for me to be.

This job allowed me to move to Denver, which has proven to be one of the biggest blessings in my life. I am in love with this city, with this state, and I feel that there is absolutely no better place for us to be than right here. We have experienced so much beauty here -- not only in the mountains and breathtaking landscape, but also in the friends we've made and the relationships we've formed. We're so blessed to have found Denver Pres, and we just cannot believe how incredible the community is there. What we love about it is that it is real community made up of real people. People who aren't afraid to talk about the hard stuff in life, and who aren't afraid to expose their failures. People who really desire to pursue the Lord, and who desire for us to know him better too. People who will go out of their way to help us, like our friends that picked us up from the airport, bought us groceries AND made us dinner the night we got home from New Zealand. Plus, it is a community who likes beer and wine, which makes retreats and get-togethers really fun. :)

This job also allowed me to establish a career, which is something I'm so thankful for. I've always been envious of those who know exactly what they want to do or be when they grow up, because I've never had an inkling of what I wanted to pursue as a career. I've had lots of ideas -- everything from a physical therapist to a lawyer to an architect -- but nothing in particular ever emerged as my "calling." While that has been frustrating, it has also been a blessing in disguise. You see, I'm a Type-A person who needs to control every aspect of my life. Usually a good thing, because it makes me really organized and very disciplined. However, not having control over my career has been a difficult exercise in faith, and I think God's used it to teach me about trust. Did I ever want to work in HR? Nope, not really. But after being in this line of work for a year and a half, I actually see how it is a really good fit for me, and how God kind of just plunked me down into it because I'm good at it. I'm a people-pleaser (again, sometimes a fault), but I love helping people, I love the customer service aspect of HR, and I love the challenges that HR can bring (read: employee relations). Who knows what will happen, but I'm really glad that I landed where I did!

This job also got me on a sweet trip to Antarctica and New Zealand. I don't really think I need to say much else about that. :)

I'm so grateful for my experience with the Polar Program. But, I do feel like it's time to move on, and I'm so thankful that God opened up a door with Arcadis. Can't wait to begin the next leg of the journey!

Peace, Love, and NextSteps.

One Year.

This past Sunday marked our 1 year anniversary, and I just couldn't believe the way the past year has gone. All the twists and turns and promotions and travel -- it is just crazy what can happen in one little year.

Even though Mike and I have been together for a (really) long time, this past year has made me even more thankful for him. I'll keep the mushiness to a minimum, but I am amazed at the tenderness and grace he shows me on a daily basis. He loves me when I am most unlovable (usually any time after 10:30pm, when I start getting crabby and mean). He loves me when I am insecure and scared (like when I decided to go to the bottom of the world for 2 months). And he loves me when I get super emotional (like when I started bawling after our entire stack of dishes came crashing down off the shelf). And I'm so thankful for it.

Mushiness is over now.

So, where are we after one year of marriage?

Six months after landing his new job in property management, Mike got promoted to Asset Manager and now gets to experience the joys of being the "Go-To" guy for any and all issues a tenant has with their apartment! Everything from leaking roofs to bed bugs to heat issues to broken appliances to "my apartment smells like Pine-Sol" -- property management is always exciting!!

Obviously, I deployed to Antarctica and got the chance to travel New Zealand; experiences I'll never forget. With Raytheon's contract ending on March 30, I shifted into job-hunting mode upon my return to the States, and in a few weeks, I'll be starting off on my next adventure: working in HR for a company called Arcadis. I am SO excited about the opportunity!

We've gotten involved in the Children's Ministry at our church -- teaching the K-1st Grade Sunday school classes once a month. We definitely enjoy teaching the kiddos and coming up with creative ways to occupy them for 30-45 minutes, but our favorite part is the hilarious things the kids come up with. Somehow, they manage to work in Star Wars or "I Know More Spanish Than You" competitions into our Jesus-focused activities. Very amusing.

Other than that, we've just been doing the usual snowboarding, hiking, and exploring Colorado! We are so blessed to be where we are, and we are so amazed at the life God's given us. We can't wait to see what the next year brings. :)

Peace, love & mawwiage. 

Musings.

I leave the Ice in 5 hours, and it's a bittersweet feeling.

Much more sweet than bitter....like 99% sweet and 1% bitter...but I do feel a certain sense of sadness to be leaving.

I have words for this sadness - lots of words. But right now I don't have time to write them all down, or to eloquently compose the emotional insanity that I am feeling right now: Excitment. Stress. Nostalgia. Eagerness. More excitement.

I'll be on the South Island until the 22nd of February, then I'll be in Auckland until March 3. I will post when I can, update when I can, but mostly I am taking this time to relax. To decompress. To re-insert myself into normal society. To think. To enjoy. To simply be.

Can't wait. :)

Simple.

Two words can describe my weekend: thankful & joyful. 

On Saturday morning, when I had to be at work at 7am, Mike got up with me and made me a cup of coffee. So simple, but so sweet. He didn't need to get up early on his day off!

On Saturday afternoon, I got the sudden urge to bake cupcakes. (Like, a LOT of cupcakes. So many that I had to give a lot away.) The recipe was awesome and they turned out great even at altitude, and I really did enjoy giving them out to friends. Being thankful for something as simple as cupcakes might seem odd, but delicious food is something I take for granted. There are so many people in the world who don't have the luxury of being able to bake or eat yummy food, so I'm thankful for never knowing the pain of hunger. (Click here to read about a project that our church took part in to help feed those in need. I couldn't go because I had to work -- see above -- but it's an awesome organization!)

On Saturday evening, when I was sleepy and cranky after working and baking absurd amounts of cupcakes, Mike made me get up and go on a walk at Castlewood Canyon State Park. There were no dramatic peaks, but it was so peaceful, and it made me so glad to live in Colorado. Thanks, hubs, for getting me off the couch! 

On Sunday afternoon, we hung out with friends from church, and I was so grateful for and excited about the community we've built and the relationships we've developed. The people of Denver Pres are awesome, and have blessed us in so many ways.

And last but not least....it looks like the Cards are going to the World Series. :) 

Peace, love, & LotsOfCupcakes!

Thankful.

Today was a long day.

A very, very long day. 

So, to counteract the negativity surrounding my day, I'm going to list 12 things I am thankful for (one for every hour that I worked). 

1. I'm thankful that I am finally starting to enjoy my morning cup of joe.

2. I'm thankful for my an incredible husband who showers me with love and grace.

3. I'm thankful that I have a roof over my head. 

4. I'm thankful for my job and the opportunity to go to the bottom of the world.

5. I'm thankful that someone invented wine.

6. I'm thankful for my family and all of their support, even from miles away.

7. I'm thankful that snowboard season is almost here. I'm ready to shred.

8. I'm thankful for deliciously fattening queso dip.

9. I'm thankful that I'm finally getting used to my new last name.

10. I'm thankful for the simple fact that I don't have to save myself.

11. I'm thankful that one of two high altitude baking attempts actually worked this week.

12. I'm thankful for my new green yoga mat.