12/24/2009

Although we miss not being home with family, Currey and I have had a wonderful Christmas Eve. We both had to work this morning but made it home in time to have lunch, read and watch TV. We have been so busy it's been so nice to spend an entire afternoon relaxing. I made a roast for dinner and then we went to look at Christmas lights. It's my favorite part of the holiday season and we have not been able to go yet this year. My precious husband drove me all over Chicago land to find a neighborhood with lights. We'll just say that they don't decorate here like they do in Texas. A great end to a great day!

And sweet Blythe got me a present. Currey and I don't do Christmas gifts for each other. We haven't since our first year of dating. Instead we pick a project together to do and use the money we would have spent on each other to help another cause. I've been talking a lot with Currey about missing cooking and he knew he couldn't break our no gift rule, so "Blythe" got me a cookbook. Sneaky, but such a pleasant surprise. You may or may not have noticed a serious lack of recipes on the blog these days. (Ok...I acknowledge that there is a lack of posting over all as well!) My job does not always allow me to cook like I used to and I'm hoping to return to lots of cooking in the near future! So I got Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking". I am thrilled. I was joking with Currey that most wives would be offended if they received a cookbook for Christmas but I've already spent a couple of hours reading through it. Hopefully we'll try something from it soon! Hope you are all enjoying time with family and friends. We wish you all a very Merry Christmas!

12/5/09

While on vacation with my parents in October (that post will be written one day!) my mom mentioned that a family friend was starting a photography business and would be doing pictures during Thanksgiving. Currey and I decided that we wanted to remember this season of life so we asked my mom to arrange for the pictures to be taken. Jennifer Jenkins is an Amarillo girl and we decided that I hadn't seen her since she was in middle school. It was crazy to see her in her element and all grown up but as the pictures show, she is really talented! Our Christmas card displays our favorite picture but here are some of the other ones that we love.

This one may be my favorite

We love all of the pictures because we feel like she really captured us.


My mom was able to come for the end of our session. I LOVE this picture of us!

We were SO pleased with her work! If you live in the Amarillo area or will be around at Christmas and are interested in pictures let me know and I'll get you her info. I'm working at being better at updating...we'll see how it goes!

11/28/09

I know it's been awhile since I've blogged. There's lots to write about but for now I wanted to share this unbelievable deal! You can read all the details here on Money Saving Mom's blog. For the price of shipping ($3.19 per order of 50) you can get FREE Christmas cards! And I can attest that it works! There are 2 different codes so you can order 50 twice, pay shipping twice and get 100 Christmas card for $6.38. I guarantee you won't find a better deal anywhere. I have been meaning to order ours as this deal ends Monday November 30th but knew we would get cute pictures while we were home. We got maternity pictures taken and I LOVE how they turned out but more on that later! I love the card we made. I can't wait to send them out. I love when the Christmas cards start rolling in. Checking the mail every day is a treat! Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Now go order those cheap Christmas cards!

11/7/2009

One of the strangest things about being pregnant away from friends and family is that no one gets to watch my belly grow. We recently returned from vacation with my parents and it was so weird for them to see me. Currey and I have obviously watched my belly grow but my parents saw me for the first time at 22 weeks. So for the rest of you, here's what I look like these days. Please disregard the outfits and hair in these pictures! My original idea was to take a picture every 2 weeks but that has not worked out so well. We normally remember late at night so I'm not looking my best.

This was at 16 weeks
At this point in time our baby was as big as a lemon hence the lemon.


This was at 20 weeks

So there you have it! Baby is growing like crazy. More pictures and updates coming soon!

GIRL!!!

Although by this point in time, I realize that most of you readers know our exciting news, I wanted to officially announce our sweet baby's gender. Honestly, we were so surprised! Although everyone we know believed that baby was a girl, Currey and I have thought our baby was a boy. Of course we are thrilled and loved getting to see her at our last doctor appointment. Modern medicine is AMAZING! We were able to see her face, hands and feet as well as the tiny details like her ears. We were totally awe struck. And thankful, as our doctor reported that everything about her looks perfect. We are thrilled that everything looks right on track. I've been feeling her move a lot lately and can't wait until Currey gets to experience that milestone as well. Hopefully I'll be back soon to write about the vacation we just returned from. We continue to be amazed at how faithful God is in his provision and our enthusiasm grows as we get closer to the day that we get to meet our sweet daughter.

9-20-2009

This year we celebrated our anniversary like any other year. (In keeping with my theme of super late posts...our anniversary is on July 17 th.) We were more excited about our gift of an ice cream maker attachment for our mixer than anything but headed to dinner before going shopping. We had a gift card to Cheesecake Factory (thanks Auntie J!) so that's where we decided on for dinner. I had not been feeling well for several weeks but when I am stressed my symptoms mimic pregnancy. I got incredibly sick during dinner so we cut it short. I did regain enough composer to pick up an ice cream maker (my love of ice cream can overcome most obstacles!) and made Currey run by Target to get me a pregnancy test.

This may sound completely normal for someone not feeling well, but as many of you know I'm not "normal". :) One of the first questions my doctor asks me at most appointments is if I could be pregnant. If I haven't taken a test then they will do a blood test which is much more costly than a home test from Target! So I take pregnancy tests before most appointments just so I can tell my doctor that I'm NOT pregnant and save myself $50. Yes...I am that cheap! When we arrived home I took my test and a second line almost immediately appeared! I began screaming for Currey so he could reread the directions and verify what that second line meant. He was immediately elated. I however spent the next 48 hours in utter shock. I had so many questions, mainly how would this effect the adoption we had been dreaming of. I felt like I was betraying the children we were waiting for without even planning to. Thankfully, we have precious friends and family that God has used to comfort my heart. We still plan on adopting, it will just be on a different time table than we had originally intended. I took another test the following morning and then another that afternoon. All tests continued to confirm that I was indeed pregnant.

We found out our exciting news just before staff retreat. Originally we decided we would not tell anyone until I had reached the 12 week marker but we quickly realized that we would have to tell the rest of staff if we were spending a week together on a lake. We couldn't tell staff before telling our families so we began making phone calls. That was one of the highlights of this experience for me. Our families have been SO incredibly supportive of our adoption but news that their first grandchild was coming sooner than expected was incredibly welcomed news!

I was able to go to the doctor upon returning from staff retreat. I was at 9 weeks and we were able to have our first sonogram. There is no better feeling than seeing your baby for the first time and at that point the experience had become so much more real! The fewer clothes that fit, certain smells making me sick, not being able to focus until I have ________ to eat and watching my belly grow continue to validate that this is a real experience. I have been to the doctor again and Baby Blandford continues to have a strong heart beat. I go again this Tuesday and then a month from Tuesday we will get to find out Baby's gender. I CAN NOT WAIT!!!

9/2/09

I know, I know...two in one day! As I've mentioned previously, we've been hired by our church as the new youth pastors. Part of the reason that we love our church is that they view us as equal so hiring Currey meant that they got me as well. I have loved getting to do ministry with Currey. I will not even pretend that I've worked as hard as Currey but it has been a joy to get to know the kids and watch Currey in action. We have spent the summer doing weekly activities, either at our house or out in the community. We can't believe we get paid to hang out with such precious children. Currey made a video for church to show what we've been up to. Hope you enjoy a peek into our summer fun!

9/2/09

So I haven't created as many posts as I've planned but I'll get caught up eventually! We've got ALOT going on...but we'll get to that post one day.

Currey graduated from Wheaton the second weekend in May. I must admit that I'm glad I've waited on this post. I've had more time to think about that day and all that it meant for us. Graduation was a huge milestone for us. Currey has been in school our entire married life. I don't think that I anticipated graduation being such an emotional day. It's hard to put into words how significant that day was because if you weren't living it, it was just not the same. I always joke with Currey that he should have done better in picking a wife and found someone that could have supported him through school. Thankfully Currey loves and supports what I do but he had to work full time during all four years of school that we were married. That's a lot to balance but on top of that he volunteered at an inner city ministry, was active in our church, attended small group and worked diligently at our marriage. He worked long hours at a job that isn't glamorous and managed to maintain great grades while balancing it all. I am so incredibly proud of all that he accomplished and the more I reflect on that special day the more proud I feel. God taught us so much during this season of life. We would both admit that it's very strange that he hasn't returned to school this fall. But new adventures await! Currey got such a strong foundation while at Moody and Wheaton. We look forward to seeing how God uses all that education to further his kingdom!

Currey and Ryan graduating together for the 2nd time


Me and the Graduate


Rick and Shelly


Roger and Terri


Mim and Gramps


Colby 19 Buddies from Moody


Currey with Dr. Larson

8/17/2009

Well I've been on blog hiatus! I'm sure you've noticed. But finally I've uploaded pictures and I'm ready to report. There has been SO much going on and for my own benefit I want to remember it all. So we are back tracking...really back tracking!

May 1st was Currey's birthday. Birthdays are a big deal at our house and we love celebrating together and with friends. This year Currey's birthday was a little different as we were about to move and he was graduating a week after his birthday. When I asked Currey how he wanted to celebrate this year he said dessert night with friends. Our sweet friend Amy knew our house was already in boxes and offered her apartment for our celebration. For birthdays I'll make whatever dessert Currey wants. This year he got 3!!! He has good taste and we enjoyed them all!

An Old Favorite


My mom makes Jello Pretzel Salad (and I'll be the first to admit that I don't have it mastered yet!) and it's one of Currey's favorites. If you've spent any time around my family you have probably had this at our house. It's a weird combo but absolutely delicious!

A New Favorite

I found this recipe for Eclair Cake online and it was amazing! We've had it several times since then and our friends have even begun requesting it.

A New Twist

We love Oreo ice cream cake and this was a cream cheese Oreo cake. Really yummy but incredibly rich. The candles made it!

Currey after eating so much dessert

Hanging out with friends.

Although I didn't get great pictures, we had a great time celebrating with friends from small group. It was great to spend time celebrating Currey and looking back over another year of growth and blessings. God has been so good to us this year and it was a treat to reflect and celebrate!

7/11/09

Hi all! I am still missing my camera cord and have about decided to just get another. There has been a lot going on that I want to document so we will be playing major catch up! Until we can show you pictures about all that is going on we love to share Currey's latest sermon. It is apparent that God has gifted Currey with the gift of teaching. It was extra special as both of my parents were here and got to hear it in person. It was sweet treat! The sermon can be found here.

Once to the page look for the sermon on 7-5-09, Our Hope is Found in a Mighty God. Even though I'm a little biased I think it's more than worth your time!

Pictures and stories will be coming soon!

6/27/09

We are excited to announce that Currey is officially on staff at our church! We were presented last Sunday and have already had 2 great activities with the kids. We could not be happier! I am so amazed at the goodness of God. We are blessed beyond measure by our church family. It is a joy for me to get to work with Currey and see him in ministry. I am beyond thankful that God has provided a place where they love Currey and allow him to use the gifts that he has been given.

In other news...there will be updates soon. I'm now 2 months behind but with Currey's new position and my new job time for blogging becomes even more limited. And there could be the possibility that I haven't totally unpacked and haven't discovered my photo cord! :) More to come soon!

5/29/09

Hi all! So it's been a month since my last post...we've been busy. There will soon be several posts updating where we have been once I find my cord to upload pictures. One recent event is our move and we still aren't completely settled. Hopefully by next week it will be found! Enjoy your weekend!

4/29/09

Jeffrey came to visit us this Easter. It was such a fun trip. We love having company. Jeffrey has visited enough that he had places he wanted to go and restaurants he wanted to eat at which is fun. We laughed a lot, ate a ton and enjoyed some quality time together.

He got in on Friday afternoon and we ran errands and had lunch. We hung out that afternoon and then I made dinner for friends. We then went to a Seder Supper at our church. It was a really interesting experience.

Saturday morning we got up and I made donuts. It's one of my new favorite breakfasts. It's supper easy and I'll put the recipe up soon.


We then headed to the city for Dim Sum in China Town. It's one of Jeffrey's favorites and did not disappoint. We spent time in China Town and then went to see Vic and Ryan. There is a Pakistani place that Currey loves and I refuse to eat at. Currey was thrilled that Jeffrey requested to eat there.


We then met my friends Nancy and Griselda for a movie.

4/5/09

As many of you know, we dream of expanding our family through adoption. We are excited to report that after lots of pray, planning and dreaming we have officially begun our adoption process. We want to be able to remember each moment of the journey so we have started a new blog here. As we progress on our journey we will update it. We are so excited and look forward to sharing our journey with you!

4/2/09

I'm in week 2 of my new job and I am enjoying it. I am still learning so much and have to complete a 9 week training program through the state. Unfortunately I could not enroll in it until April 27th so that means that I won't carry my own cases until July. I am a little impatient but believe that the Lord is giving me a slower pace to adjust to a new surrounding. I continue to adjust to such a happy work environment! The team gets along really well and my new supervisor is very enthusiastic. I'm excited for this opportunity and I'm affirmed that I made the right decision about leaving my last job.

In other news, last Saturday Currey took his Exegesis Comp. The report from everyone was that it was more difficult than expected so we are waiting in great anticipation for the results.

Other than that a lot of my time is consumed with Cinderella's Closet. We are enjoying my new work hours that allow for more time together, opportunities to spend time with friends and lots of opportunities to try new recipes. Hopefully this weekend I'll get a chance to post a couple. Hope everyone enjoys their Friday and has a happy weekend!

3/23/09

So I am officially employed again and we continued to be amazed at the goodness of God. I was able to get 2 full weeks of great rest and relaxation. I was not planning on taking a break but God knew how badly I needed one.

I enjoyed the rest of the week with Currey. Lots of meals together and time with friends. We were able to run errands and do little things around the house like laundry that had piled up. This last week I was able to spend with my mom. It is always such a treat to spend time with her! We cleaned the apartment, shopped a lot, ate great meals, cooked, talked and laughed. She helped me put together a great new wardrobe as I have to really dress up for my new position. It was sad that she had to leave but we are already looking forward to her next visit! And hopefully my dad gets to come too!

The trip was made even sweeter as the day before she came I was offered a position as a foster care worker. I am really excited to be working for the agency and really believe in the work that they are doing. I started today and it was a treat. I was greeted with donuts and spent the day meeting and reading. I'm looking forward to a new chapter of life in social services. There is a lot to learn but I think I am really going to enjoy the team. Looking forward to a new adventure!

3/9/09

2/16/09

1/28/09