2010

Happy New Year!

I think it might be hard to beat 2009. Last year was such a good one!
Graduating!
Buying a house!
Renovating our house!
Awesome anniversary!
My sister got engaged!
Survived my first semester of grad school!

2010, I don't have any resolutions except for perhaps a potential vacation this summer and continuing to thrive in school.

I have to brag on my fantastic husband and wonderful parents: They completely surprised me this Christmas with a Eee PC netbook I have wanted for a long time! I'm thrilled with my new toy! It's so tiny and light weight. It's going to be so nice for classes!

On another note, we rang in the new year in style in Temple. We went to a ballroom and danced the year away. It was classic.

Well, there's nothing profound about this post, but since I haven't posted in six months I thought I'd better write something!

One of the neat things about this Christmas was getting to see all of my family. I made a trip to Dimmitt to see my Mimi, spent Christmas with Steve and Vicki in San Antonio as well as seeing my Mema and Grandad, then spent a couple of days with my parents followed by a trip to Temple to see Anita and Phil.

We're finally home again and it's time to get back to reality. I'm ready for another semester although I'm more nervous than I thought I would be. I start seeing clients very soon and that brings its own sort of anxieties. This first semester taught me so much about myself and I feel that in the words of one of my professors "this program will change you if you will let it". It has.

Commencement

Here are some pictures from my graduation this Saturday!

"Ring by Spring"

...has a new meaning at HSU. Last night I got my class ring at the HSU Ring Rally! It was really neat and my family was there. HSU gives all of its graduates official school rings now which I think is a way cool tradition.

I'm glad my parents were there! They really deserve a ring from HSU!

I've gotten two special rings while at Hardin-Simmons!

Also yesterday, we finally heard back from the seller and it looks like things are going to work oug great with our house! We're so excited! We can't wait to paint, decorate, have friends over, and make our place our own.

Wow! Yesterday was an awesome day!

Ch-ch-ch-change

I did it! I decided! I'm going to ACU! I'm very excited and mostly just relieved to have that off my chest. You learn a lot about yourself and God when you have decisions to make. The coolest part of all has been God's faithfulness in all of it. Everything just keeps falling into place. It has been a really good experience. So, changes are in the works...we'll be moving in May since I'm graduating and we are trying to get that figured out.

We've made an offer on a house, which is terrifying but exciting. We're in the negotiation stage with repairs and such, so it's not official yet. It's amazing. We're going from one major decision right to another! Here's what it looks like:

It definitely needs a paint job, and some other cosmetic stuff, but that's the fun part! Keep your fingers crossed!

update

Well, I'm officially going to grad school! I've been accepted to both schools I applied to and now, I'm just trying to decide which one to go to. This has been a very hard decision as they are both such good programs. I should decide this week one way or the other. I'm just waiting to hear about scholarships.

We've started meeting as a house church with some friends, Grant and Laura, John and Chelsea, and my sister Anna and Garrett. We're really excited about this and it has been a real blessing so far. We're going to rotate from house to house each week so that should be fun too. It's such a neat experience to have a close group of friends.

This past weekend Austin and I went out to the farm and had awonderful weekend with my parents and Anna and Garrett. I got a ton done on my project that is due this week, and Austin finished our dishes! Mom should be bringing them into town today. I'm so excited! We've only had two plates for almost a year. Now, we'll have a whole set! Yay! I'm so excited about having a set that Austin made.

Well, that's a super quick update since it's March now! I hope I have more time for creative things and blogging and such this summer!

House Hunt

Well, it fell through. But praise God for an answer! I mean, we prayed that he would place us where he wants us, and that's what we're banking on. I'm glad he made the decision for us. So we're back on the hunt, searching the real estate listings and praying.

On a more encouraging note, Austin is getting really excited about grad school! How cool that he's in! That was another answer to prayer, and now we'll just let God keep working out all the details. And believe me. There are many.

I'm getting ready to start my application process for grad school also. I won't be applying until next January, but I want to use as much of my slower summer days as I can to work on it. I believe it is a somewhat involved process. If we stay on track like we are right now, then the next few years will be crazy and go something like this:

May '09 I graduate from undergrad with my BS in psychology

May '10 Austin graduates with MA in missions

May '11 I graduate with a master's in marriage and family therapy

People are going to be like, are the Brown's done graduation already?

I really like school! I love what I'm learning and I love where it's taking me. It's amazing what it's like when you finally find THE perfect fit for you. Actually, I can't take the credit, because if I hadn't met Austin, married him and moved away, I never would have found the path I'm on. So God knows better than I. How many times I've heard it, how many times I've had to be reminded that God is good.