Beach Pit BBQ & Rockin' Bowling

Alex and I had a blast last night having dinner with 7 other couples (without kids) from Thrive (our marriage bible study group) at Compass Bible Church. We all met at the Beach Pit BBQ for dinner and enjoyed meeting new couples! Then we headed off to Tustin Lanes for bowling with the lights off, black lights on, and fun music. Although I had the worst time hitting down pins, Alex had 4 strikes in a row! It was fun, none the less, and it was great just being with other couples around our age.

Happy Birthday Alex!

Alex's Birthday was on Saturday, October 4th...but we celebrated the whole weekend! I surprised him by putting in his prescription and polarizing his Ray-Ban Sunglasses. On Saturday we went to dinner at Cedar Creek Inn and were so impressed with the menu choices! On Sunday we met both of our parents for lunch a Taleo (a Mexican Grill Restaurant in Irvine) which I would highly recommend. I made my sweet husband a soy ice cream mud pie since we are both lactose-intolerant. Yummy as usual! Happy 26th Birthday my love!

Our New Soon-To-Be Home

Alex and I have been house hunting since the end of August, looking in Mission Viejo, Laguna Niguel, Aliso Viejo, and Laguna Hills. It has been quite a journey, learning all about Real Estate and Loans, deciding on a floor plan we would both be happy with, and then the long wait to see if our offer on a home would be accepted. A couple of weeks ago, we put an offer on a house in Laguna Niguel, a forclosure, and found out yesterday that our offer was accepted! We are so excited and are continuing to pray for God to lead us through this process and that He would be glorified! The house is a 2 story, 2 car garage with a backyard, 3 bedroom, loft, 3 bathroom, living area, dining room, and kitchen. It was just freshly painted and recarpeted, a very nice touch! Here are some pictures!

My Beautiful Classroom

I can't believe it is going to be my 5th year teaching High School. This year I will be teaching 3 Introduction to Statistics classes, an Algebra IA class, and 2 Algebra IA-2nd Semester classes. This means I get a lovely mix of freshmen and sophmores and seniors..maybe some juniors. I have spent the past couple of days updating my classroom with decorative walls, attending teacher meetings, and planning for the first day as well as the rest of the semester. Surprisingly, I am REALLY looking forward to going back to work...to me it's fun because I get to play and show my students how much fun and interesting math can be. Here are some pictures of my room!

My Mom's Birthday

Last night we took my mom to dinner for her birthday (which is actually next Sunday). We went to the Orange County Mining Company...yummy food!! I surprised her with the Mama Mia Soundtrack...our new favorite musical! I also got creative with dessert and made mini ice cream cakes...it's actually in the form of cupcakes. It was Alex friendly too! Gluten Free chocolate cake mix and soy ice cream! (Okay....it had some fudge in there too...) Here are some pictures of the four of us! Happy Birthday Mom!

Reading Through The Bible In A Year

I am usually not one to make New Years Resolutions, because like most people, I don't last past January. However, I have been feeling convicted that in all my years of being a Christian, I have never once read through the entire bible. So, starting on January 1, 2008 I began my "Reading Through The Bible In A Year" program. I decided that instead of reading a little old and new testament everyday, that I would read the Old Testament First. Today I have finished Genesis and started in Exodus. It's amazing to me that I can still find new applications and information even though I have read these passages before. I can see daily how God speaks to me through my reading and through the lives of the people in Genesis and now Moses, in Exodus. I also wanted to make sure I am in the Word daily because I vowed as a wife I would daily seek the Lord as to be a good spiritual helper to my husband. I will periodically blog about my progress this year and any interesting thoughts God reveals to me throughout this journey!

Christmas 2007

Alex and I celebrated our first Christmas together married! About 3 weeks prior to Christmas, we went a bought a 6-7ft Noble Fir Tree for our apartment and decorated it with red and silver ornaments, white lights, and a big red bow I made for the top. (You will see it in some pictures in the slideshow).

We woke up on Christmas morning to open gifts from each other. Alex bought me a Bull Horn for when I coach and some other little goodies... I got him a Messenger Bag Briefcase for him to take to work and school. We went over to my parents house to open gifts and stocking stuffers with them. We had lunch (Cornish Game Hens & Wild Rice) and then drove to L.A. to be with Alex's family. This year was especially nice because my brother flew in from North Carolina and Alex's brother & sister-in-law flew in from Maryland. Along with Alex's parents, brother, sister-in-law, and sister, we drove to Cayucos (just past Morro Bay) to spend time with Alex's grandparents and other family members.

Reflecting back on this Christmas, I am so grateful for our families who made it so easy to make accomodations to split Christmas and do things a little differently now that we are married. We were able to spend time praying and thanking God for the birth of His Son, and praise Him for all His blessings this year of 2007!