CarlFamily

Christmas in Dallas 2011

2012-01-24T16:10:00.000-08:00

We decided to celebrate Christmas a week early this year with our family

in Dallas, and then do actual Christmas Day

in Galveston (since Jordan was leaving 2 days later for Peru)

So here are the events from that weekend:

Annual Kirby Christmas Symphony at the DSO:

I love getting to dress up and go out:)

This year's symphony was the best in years, the arrangements were

so unique and really refreshing to hear. We were so glad

we got to make it this year. We missed Matt & Alethea this time:/

The next day we had Christmas at the Kirby's house:

Tillie was a little sad that night:)

Madeline was so helpful with all the Christmas gifts!!

Everyone got personalized calligraphy rubber stamps from

Rachel Carl & Co:) haha!

Matt's Family-they are getting so big!:)

The next night we went over to Jordan's Grandparents new house

(they just moved down from Ohio!!)

While there, we finally go to meet Ben & Abby's

son- Abe!!! He is such a cutie!!!!

Abram Adane Lowery!

Ben & Abby with their precious son!

Jordan helping his grandpa put on the hardware on all the cabinets

Emme helped cook and then I was showing her how to write "fancy"

Grandma helping Emma with a drawing:)

And Gabe was playing games on his laptop,

and shopping for money clips..... (?)

They were sure glad to get to hang out with their brother:

Opening gifts that night (more address stamps:)!

Hayden loved this bucket!!

We left the next morning to go back to Galveston....

its always hard having to leave family, but we love seeing them!

More to come! :)

Dickens on the Strand 2011

2012-01-12T18:36:00.000-08:00

The weekend after Thanksgiving both sets of parents came to Galveston for Dickens on the Strand. Its an annual event where everyone dresses up and the downtown area is all decorated, its a lot of fun.

The first night, my parents got their first, they helped us decorate our tree!

We have a memory tree, all of our ornaments from childhood, and we add to it every

year if we can with something that means something, or reminds us of that year.

Let me give a backstory on the first ornament, b/c I don't want you to

think we are crazyweird dog people. Last year, we were at

Kemah in an ornament shopand I found a pomeranian ornament

(looks like Bella), but, alas, there were no black and white

pomeranian ornaments, so we just got the one Jordan

joked with me about it for a while b/c he always says Bella is

the 'favorite dog', so,this year, I went out in search for a black

pomeranian ornament. I finally found one on this shady website,

but it only came in an all-black pomeranian,

and as you know, Zeus has unique patches of white on him:)

Well, thanks to white out, I could make it look just like him,

and the teacup its sitting in is such a nice touch I thought:

I had 2 picture ornaments made, on shutterfly (it was super easy)

one for my business I started this year

(kind nerdy, I know-but there aren't

many calligraphy ornaments out there)

and the other one is a picture from

our 5 year Anniversary Vacation in Cancun:)

and lastly, I found this unique Palm Tree Christmas Tree.

It made me think of 'Christmas at the beach' and since

we're in Galveston, I thought it was fitting.

Watching us put up ornaments:)

The next morning I had my monthly breakfast with the

UTMB Med Student Wives:

This month we had: Callie, Katie, Me and Emmie.

Later that day was Dickens on the Strand, its held every year, and you

get to dress up, so its pretty fun, esp for kiddos.

You can check it out here

They dressed up pretty good.

Emma was so excited!:)

i love this pic.

Jordan should wear this more.

I saw my friend from my old elem school in Dickinson, Amber!

So glad to see her:)

Playing around on the strand.

our outfits weren't that great, but we had fun anyway.

Emma got her picture with the Queen, so cool.

That afternoon, Gabe and Emma were playing on

our front porch after the Dickens thing.

Unfortunately, Emma slipped on the steps,

fell and broke her arm/wrist. We all

walked across the street to the UTMB Emergency Room,

(came in handy after all)

She was a pretty good sport about it though:)

After she got the sling at the hospital, we all went to

Moody Gardens Festival of Lights:

Had a great time with family, wished we could be with them more,

but its nice the time we do have with them.

Thanks for reading:)

Turkey Day 2011

2012-01-08T12:42:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving weekend was such a blast this year:) I remembered last year not being so fun b/c Jordan had a test the Monday after, so he was very stressed. This year he had just finished a test, so it was much more enjoyable all around! We did Thanksgiving on Thursday with my family and then on Friday spend the day with the Carl side.

Thanksgiving Day:

Poppy feeding Tillie Turkey!

Jordan and my dad cut the turkey together, it was great!

Mom and Josh, this is his first Thanksgiving as a married man-he's looking pretty good

(this is pre-dinner though, lol)

And his beautiful bride Jennifer:) She is a lot of fun.

My mom was pretty happy about how the turkey turned out:)

Jordan and Peyton chill in on the couch.

The food at the Kirby house was SO yum!! It was nice to see all of my family together as well.

We watched Soul Surfer that night, we have been wanting to watch it for a while, it was really good.

Friday:

walking around Firewheel mall with our nephew Hayden!

playing on the laptops...big surprise. yes, jordan's is pink. j/k, its emmas:)

Good to see Kelsey! Love her new haircut.

We saw Arthur Christmas together, it was so funny, I loved it!:)

Nana and Hayden.

Then we drove by the Carls house that is almost finished being built. It has this great field behind it that Jordan and Gabe were playing in.

Look at his cute hat! love it!:)

At Cheesecake factory for dinner. Kelsey's cute little family:)

being silly with Nana

Thanksgiving weekend 2011

Many great memories, and lots of fun with family.

PRE-Thanksgiving 2011

2012-01-02T19:42:00.000-08:00

I guess I need to update, its been over a month! I just have been so incredibly busy, but I am very grateful for that!:) A few days beforeThanksgiving I had the opportunity to go to Kansas to meet my new nephew Jackson AND see one of my good friends from high school get married in Denvery just a few hours away. Their wedding was such a cool story of redemption, I was so thrilled to be there to witness it first hand:)

We went and ate lunch with Jayce at his school!

Out on the playground with Becca

Grace lookin cute

sitting on the porch with their new babies

Here is Jackson at only 2 MONTHS old! he weighed 15 lbs then!

Lauren Smith and Ben Stevenson's Marriage in Denver

Such a great story!

I've known Lauren since elementary school!

Me and the girls I know from Dallas:)

Then I went back after the wedding and left after church the next day.

These kiddos are all so cute!

Jayce, Grace, Jackson, Emma, Lileigh and Gabe.

I was so glad to get to see family and friends right before Thanksgiving,

I hope to see them again sometime soon.

Sharing our hearts

2011-11-22T08:27:00.001-08:00

I have struggled over this past year whether to write this post or not. I kept saying 'no, that's too personal, I will share once its over', but really it was just my fear of being completely honest and letting people in to the deepest part of my heart, and I need to trust God that that is what He calls us to sometimes.

The reason I knew this is b/c a good friend of mine, Taylor, told me about her friends blog that shares a story like ours. (you can read it here) I was directed to this blog back in the summer and I remember how comforting it was to read someone else's story and all the emotions they had (that were much like ours) and the encouragement that came from reading how God truly worked in their lives.

Well, if you haven't figured it out by now, Jordan and I have been trying

to start a family. I always thought when I graduated HS

(and knew I was marrying my HS sweetheart:) that I would

have children young (and many of them!)

b/c we both always wanted a large family. Then when

God revealed to Jordan that he should be a doctor,

we knew that path would have to be put on hold,

so we made a 'plan' that in his 2nd year we would start 'trying'.

Up until this past year I just thought :"ok cool, so I'll have kids

when I'm 25, that will be great!".

Well, apparently God doesn't work that way.

We started trying in January of 2011, and we thought

we could potentially have our baby by at least Christmas of this year,

and obviously that was not in God's plan.

If I was to go month by month and tell you all the things we

struggled with and learned from God each month,

it might as well be a book,

so I will give the shortened version to catch everyone up to speed.

From January-June we tried naturally, and after nothing happened,

b/c of our age, we prayed about it, and decided to see a fertility

specialist, and realized that for now, we will need some help
with fertility treatments.
And with that came many questions:
(why would God do this?

What does this mean long term?

Is it going to be hard every time we want a child?

and the list goes on.)

In August, the Doctor recommended we try our first round of

medications, and with that came excitement, and a few side
effects, nothing major, and if all goes well,
we try and pray and wait.

I would have said then that was the 'hardest' month of trying

b/c we were so hopeful with the new meds, but trust me,

it was not. When mother nature showed up I went back to the

Doctor and we learned the medication had helped but there
were some side effects that caused the lining to be too thin.

So, in September we decided to take a break for many reasons.

1-we were emotionally just needing a break

2- Jordan and I had a vacation planned and a lot of family

stuff going on, it would have been very difficult to

make the appts and take medications, etc.

So, we still tried and prayed and waited, but again, nothing happened.

In October when I went back in to the Doctor, she said she wanted to

try a different medicine and she thinks we would have
better results on a different

medicine that works exactly like the first one did,

except it doesn't affect your lining negatively.

So I took that for 5 days. This time, she wanted to add

on some different shots to help with some other things, and
then again we tried, we prayed and we waited and
..... praise God it worked!

We got pregnant! I cannot tell you the rush of

emotions I had when I saw the positive test.

I was in the bathroom, and I was frustrated about how I was probably

going to get another negative, but I just wanted to get it 'over with' so

I took a test a few days early....and there it was.

I immediately fell to the ground on my knees and cried and

prayed to God thanking Him for this wonderful gift. I went straight

back to Jordans office and handed him the stick and said 'we did it!'

and we both cried together and had such a special moment of joy.

Over the next week I was for sure pregnant: I was exhausted

and sleeping ALL the time, I was nauseous and starving all at the

same time while having to pee every 5 seconds! =)

I went in to the doctor and she had my bloodwork done.

That's when fear set in.

She said I was pregnant, but that my HCG level was

very low and my progesterone was not

what it should be at either. So they started me immediately

on progesterone supplements. I took them twice a day and prayed to

God that He would save this pregnancy and allow this baby to stay.

Jordan and I both were just pleading with God for it to work out.

But a few days later I went back in for blood work (to see if it was rising)

and my HCG had dropped. I stopped the progesterone and then

proceeded to wait for it to 'pass'. Since it was an early miscarriage,

no d & c was needed.

I cannot describe all the emotions that were literally going

on with me and then just for both of us for this to have happened.

We knew it happens a lot, and that it was a possibility, but just had

never really thought about it before. It was such a devastation,

and emotions from anger, to grief, to depression had all set in at

one time or another. Then after about a week I heard the song

by Gungor, 'Beautiful Things' (which if you haven't heard you

need to go click the link after you're done reading and listen!)

and realized that it was a beautiful thing that had happened.

We DID get pregnant, and that in and of itself was a blessing

and left us with so much hope for the future. It also brought us

closer, and strengthened our walk with Him and gave us a new

toolset to help others we may run into that may be hurting or have

hurt in the past with the same things. And although I would never

wish this on someone else, let alone myself, I know that one day I

will look back and know that God did that b/c

He makes all things work together for my good.

(which you can hear the truth in that in this song by Jesus Culture here )

After reading a lot online about early miscarriages I found that

most people got pregnant soon after, so we decided to go ahead

with another round of medications for

November. We did the same process this time as directed, and

I will say, we were MORE than hopeful that this time would be the
'one'. And I think in retrospect, it was me grasping at straws
trying to get my baby back from last time. I know that sounds silly
when I write it out, but that's what my thought was.
I just need to be pregnant again I can't take the pain of it being
taken from me. So my hopes were,

I would say, a little too high. I was praying and crying to God,

begging Him to let this be the one, but like many things

we don't understand, God said no.

I think for me, this was by far the hardest one yet, b/c I hadn't

really 'let go' of what happened last month. I thought I would

get pregnant this month and the pain would go away,

but when God said no, I realized I had to truly let go and trust that

He will bring our needs in His timing.

We both have shed many tears and agonized over understanding
His will for our life.During the past week I have loved the words in this
song Just Cry and how it says :

"It doesn't mean you don't trust Him, it doesn't mean you don't believe,

it just means you don't know He's redeeming everything."

I love those words. Jordan and I have been praying and we

know that God has a perfect plan, and while we fully understand

now that we have no control, and no medicine, no doctor, and no

ultrasound can tell us when the right time is, or when it will be,

we know that God is in control, He is the creator and He

will answer our prayer in His timing.

*I left out a lot of the names of medications and specifics to the
process and details about the fertility treatments.
However, if you are reading this and you would like to know more,
or get advice or just talk to me about the process, I would be more than happy to
share the details with you of what I have had done. You can email me at:
rachel.carl@yahoo.com

Here are some questions we wanted to answer:

Q: Have we considered adoption?

Yes, of course. We would love to adopt. But for right now we are on this path,

and He is teaching us to trust Him whole heartedly

and we are continuing to follow His will.

Q: Will you continue to have fertility treatment?

Yes and no. Right now for December, we are going to the Doctor to

see what is going on, and to talk about it, and we will go from there.

We may take a break, we may try the meds again, but we will

continue praying and seeking the Lords will as to what

He would have us do as far as fertility treatments in the New Year.

Q: Will you continue updating us every month as to what's going on?

I will do my best. I like the thought of updating it regularly,

but I think I may just wait and keep it ambiguous.

Mainly b/c I don't like the idea of everyone knowing whats

going on at every second, and plus I don't always have time to blog.

So please don't think that b/c I don't update that means

I'm pregnant or something. =) I will update about this when the Lord puts

it on my heart to. I wrote this one b/c I really feel like there are some

people that need to read this and find comfort in Him to

know that He does work through these situations

(even if it doesn't end how you might want) and I wrote it for that purpose

and to update our family on what's going on, and

b/c I know that God wanted me to be vulnerable about this and share

it even though I may not be 'comfortable' in doing so.

Q: How can we pray for you both?

Please pray for patience, contentment and strength for Jordan and

I as we seek the Lord's will and learn what it means to

abandon our wants and trust in Him.

Pray for comfort as this is such a personal issue that really

strikes a cord deep in our hearts.

Please pray for physical healing, and when and if I am on medications, that my body

will accept and respond well to those.

And lastly, pray that He will show us what His will is for us

in this time of 'waiting' and how we can truly worship and

honor Him while we wait.

I love this sentence I read on my friends blog

(with the exception of their last name written in)

that she wrote over a year ago that was going through this similar situation

(and who just had her 1st baby last week):

Future Carl Baby, we love you.

5x7 Folded Card

2011-11-18T12:58:00.000-08:00

Our Family Name Christmas Card

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View the entire collection of cards.

New Beginnings-Med School Year 2

2011-10-18T21:51:00.000-07:00

I'm playing catch up from August/Sept..so here it goes:

When the 2nd year of Medical school started, there was a fair at UTMB for all the

newbies coming in for their 1st year. Jordan is on leadership for Hands and Feet Medical

Missions group, and they had a booth at the Welcome Weekend. As you can see from the

pictures, the guys on leadership are.....what's the word? oh yea. weird. haha! I'm

just kidding, they are a lot of fun=)

Jordan and Jason hiding behind the booth b/c they're tired of talking to people.

Notice instead of candy, they decided to give out 'Turkey Bacon'....there were only

2 pieces left! It was a hit! =)

Jordan and I TRYING to take a picture.

From left we have Jordan's friends: T.J., Brazos, Me & Jordan of course, then Josh.

finally got them to leave the photog!

me and Ansley-Ms. P.A. fabulous!!

(I'm going to skip Kelsey's rehearsal dinner and wedding and do that in a separate post)

The day AFTER the wedding on Sept 3rd, we left for our vacay in MEXICO!!! =)

We got to go with our good friends, Taylor and Josh. We had such a blast-it

was a MUCH needed vacation that went by all too fast, but it was awesome.

First day in the pools!

finally getting to read something other than medical books.

view from our balcony!

Our room had an amazing bathroom, this is the view from the jacuzzi out

to the balcony. SO NICE=) we loved it! thanks bookit.com!

dinner was so fun every night. all inclusive is the best!

We got to go to this amazingly fun XTREME park!

It had miles of trails that were all zip lining WAYYY up in the air!

It was scary at first, but once you took the first jump, the rest was so fun!

we had to climb all these towers, to then zip line off!

WAY scarier than a roller coaster!

on one they let us go together. I love jordan's face here. lol.

We got to wear helmets. so funny.

some of the zip lines went down and into a fresh water cave!

good things my camera's waterproof b/c I did not see that one coming!

and some of them had water slides in between!!! =)

At this park you could also take rides on dune buggy's! Jordan got a little

out of control on one of the turns and we had to hitch hike after that. LOL. don't worry, it

isn't as bad as it sounds, its a closed park. ha. the people behind us were also in dune buggy's.

And the last 2 things we did I didn't take pictures of b/c it was completely in the water and I

didn't want to test my camera....But what we did was a wooden kayak through underwater

freshwater caves, it was so fun!

And the last one was swimming through the same kind of caves.=)

It was a BLAST! but, man, were we exhausted!! haha.

dinner that night.

we stayed on the beach the next day...

nice hat josh.

dinner the last night. we didn't want to leave!=)

the SOMS (Spouses of Medical Students) group is BACK in session!

We have some new additions this year=)

We meet once a month at the Sunflower Cafe, I love meeting with these girls

and getting to know them better=)

From left:

Whitney, Amanda, Cayla,

this is what happened...

2011-08-20T15:14:00.000-07:00

As some of you might know, I sprained my ankle, (YET AGAIN!) a few weeks ago....yes, that's right, I had an incident. It is very frustrating b/c at the time it was exactly 6 weeks until Kelsey's wedding and our vacation to Riviera Maya!!! Thankfully, that was all the time I needed according to the doctor.

So this is what happened...

First, this is the saboteur. A ratchet from one of Jordan's moving straps that resides in the

bed of his truck.

I thought I would be a really nice wife and go to get his truck washed on a Thursday afternoon. I get up to the car wash and they ask me to take the straps out of the back. I step on the wheel and hop on in the back to grab these out real quick (there are like 3 or 4). I throw them over the side and check to make sure for other stuff and then decide I'm going to jump out the same way I got in (he has rail bars you can grab on to). So I grabbed on and jumped over the side...well, mid air, I realized... I'm probably jumping right in the spot where the straps are...and sure enough I look down and see that huge ratchet. It was too late. I landed right on it with my outside (left) ankle, and snap! Tore a ligament. Fun times, let me tell you. It hurt soo bad....but I am very thankful that it was my left ankle and not my right one (so I could drive home)!

It immediately swells up:

Isn't that lovely? And continued to do so the rest of the evening, and of course I iced it and elevated it all night. I decided to get an appointment the very next day (thank you zocdoc.com!) at an orthopedic office b/c I needed to know if it was broken, or torn, or whatever, I just needed help walking! And, to my dismay, I did tear the ligaments on my ankle in some choice spots. Awesome. But, thankfully, he doesn't make you wear those clunky 'boots' that you usually have to wear (that I have had a few times in the past), now he only uses the nice, and ever so stylish, black braces:

I got my ace bandage and brace and was ready to go! He said this brace does the exact same thing as the big boot, but just adds more support, and less discomfort. Plus you can wear tennis shoes with this and keep your hips aligned better (b/c those boots make you off balanced) so I was thankful!

I didn't take any more pictures of my ankle b/c once the bruising started to show it was pretty nasty. I am now coming on my 4th week with the brace, and its still swollen, but feeling better. I think I will be ok for the wedding/vacation, or at least I like to hope so!=)

Anyway, I was in Dallas the weekend before that, and it was a lot of fun! I went by myself (jordan had to study) so it was nice to be with just my family. We are here at the harbor for Jennifer's Birthday! My mom took the picture on the right...and the one on the left is just something funny we did to see what I would look like with brown hair...ha!

you decide!!! Although, I think the blonde looks better, but I may be biased...

This is Jordan and I on our 5 year anniversary (July 8th), I don't think I posted this earlier. We went to eat together and then went out for some fro yo! (no that is not a hat, its a sign on the window...)

and last but not least-this is us at Murdochs. If you ever come to Galveston, this is a neat little place to visit! They have an outdoor patio bar/snack place where you can sit and eat/drink while you enjoy the ocean! Plus they have a huge souvenir shop that had some pretty interesting stuff inside.

It's worth a look-through=)

thanks for reading.

as summer comes to a close

2011-07-30T21:35:00.000-07:00

the end of July always makes me feel like summer is going to end so quickly..

so here are some more things that happened.

I think I told you all about the 8 week Research Program Jordan was in this May/June.

It was a great learning experience for him, and look what he won (and was published on the front page of UTMB's newsletter for) on the final day when

all the medical students that do research present their 'Poster' of what they did/learned:

(PS I love reading the last sentence of the caption under his picture that says what his poster is about, b/c I still have YET to understand what in the world it means...I told him to stop trying to explain it.)

Sorry, I HAVE to brag on my husband, bc he never does it for himself. Here is a better

picture of him and his poster that he made and designed himself (in case you wanted a closer look-b/c I know deep down you really do.....)

and on a lighter note, here is Bella helping me make it through a drive to Dallas-she

makes me smile=)

our friends Amanda and Phil were SO awesome to let us go with them to the Astros Game-

I love this 'air conditioned' stadium! And we were 13 rows back from home plate...THANK YOU GUYS!

on Pier 21 for 4th of July!

About to watch 4th of July fireworks with our friends Josh and Taylor

and my parents:

In Dallas for Kelsey's shower last weekend:

isn't she beautiful??!!

decorations!

with the mother of the bride //and little sister Emma

all the hostesses from the shower, it was fun to see family!

The wedding is in less than 6 weeks, I can't believe it!

Good thing I just tore the ligaments in my ankle jumping out of the truck and landing on a

wonderful truck strap ratchet.

pictures and info to come about this later....

for now, I must get some sleep.

lately..

2011-07-17T19:39:00.000-07:00

//I have been debating whether to go back and re-blog everything that has happened...I think I decided just to sort of 'move forward' and if I have time to go back and re-blog things that have happened I might like to put on here, but just don't hold your breath//

Summer is going by way too fast! I cannot believe it is almost August. I am very much enjoying having my husband here this summer, as opposed to last summer when he was gone at Officer Training for the AF. (I wish I would have had my business back then so I wasn't so bored!)Ha. However, Medical Students do not get a summer break=( So after Jordan's 8 week research rotation he went straight into his 1st day of Year 2 that following Monday..boo!

Speaking of Medical School, Year 2 is the HARDEST and WORST year of medical school, or so, everyone will tell you. But it's nice knowing that going in b/c you can prepare for it. Why is it so horrible?

Well, just the fact that they are still 'studying' books (and not really seeing patients yet) makes it difficult, and obviously the classes are getting harder...but the main reason is the dreaded STEP 1 USMLE exam that happens in June. That is the 1st and hardest Board Examination Test they will take on their road to becoming an MD. Their are 3 STEP tests, the 2nd and 3rd ones are 'not as hard' so they say. The stress for this test starts in, well, lets just say day 1 of year 2, however, it doesn't really get bad until about January....so bring it on 2012!!!! After that its smooth sailing. Years 3 and 4 of medical school are the more 'fun' years where you do rations and no more lectures...I think.=)

I am looking forward to meeting all the 'newbie' medical student wives. I have not forgotten what it feels like to be living in a strange place and not knowing anybody! I am also hoping that this year, since I will be setting my own schedule, I will have more time to devote to hanging out with these ladies, and hopefully doing some 'mentoring'...or just having fun is nice too!=) We are going to be starting a Bible study for the wives of medical students for us to discuss and share our perils, joys and laughter with older wives, younger wives and us in between. I am very pumped to meet the new ladies and hopefully connect on a deeper level with the ones I already know.

I cut my hair at the beginning of summer...that's right-the day AFTER school got out I went and chopped it all off! I was ready for a fresh start. It's been an exciting/rough/different kind of year for me so I wanted a fresh start for my new journey...i guess you could say.

Speaking of new journey, Jordan and I have decided that next year I will not be returning to the school I was teaching at. To most of you this is no new news, but I just felt like I should blog about it for some of you who may not have known. I have decided to stay home and do my business full time (and by business I mean my calligraphy/shirt stuff) and I am also going to be teaching piano lessons part time at a private school on the island. I am also going to be teaching some free lance after school music programs/clubs for students that are interested, so I am excited about that. I am glad to be home and setting my own schedule, its been really great for Jordan and I as well. I think it has been a really great change and I am looking forward to the future. here's my new do:

We have had some visitors this summer, which of course, we always LOVE LOVE LOVE! So keep 'em coming=) It is so nice to be in this place in our lives where we live in a 'vaca destination' that people like to come visit. We have been so blessed having people here at our home, (and we hope we have blessed them...?hehe) and we are always excited about who God might bring into our home next..

here are a few snapshots of what's been going on this summer:

Kemah with the Carls

feeding the sting rays!

grillin on the beach with my family 4th of July weekend!

he loves meat.

First camping trip with our NEW TENT=) awesome. we love it=)

floatin' the river..both good and relaxing..oh my..these glasses are NOT cute with this short hair...

guess I need

to make another Target trip soon=) hehe.

We went 'tubing' in New Baunfels-so fun! It was our 'early' anniversary celebration.

and we got to eat at the Gristmill after our tubing experience...and then we returned back

to our tent. HA! we were really roughin it....

and these are a couple pics from 5 years ago (July 8th, 2006)...wow, i just typed that. craziness.

it has been such a good 5 years though. God has and still is taking us on an amazing journey together, and I am so glad to get to share it with my husband.

that's all for now....have a good night!

the many moods of a med student

2011-02-26T21:23:00.000-08:00

it is interesting to observe the life cycle of a med student during one of their classes. and by life cycle, i mean the 'cycle' of them in their class from beginning to end, it's really much like a butterfly.

the beginning stages are normal and subdued, studying a lot, but mainly taking it slow...

then the middle stage is: oh no, i should have done more studying the last few weeks, so the stress starts to kick in. much more studying goes on during this time, it builds more and more each day.

near the end, right before the test, everything is magnified. its like no matter what they are doing, you know that inside their head, they are actually just thinking about things on their test, or things they need to do in their next study session. i never expect to get any real conversations out during this time, so i tend to just 'lay low'. haha.

thank goodness for friends during this time!!! it is so hard being away from family, but, i am very grateful we have so many friends here in galveston, and i have other ways to keep myself busy!

then, we come to test day...its finally over! i get my husband back for a few days!! its always so fun hanging out the night after his test-love it!

only one more class left for year one of medical school.....9 more weeks...please pray for endurance, as burn out really starts to kick in at this point. his next class is: NHB (Neuroscience and Human Behavior)

after this class will be the end of year one and his 8 week research rotation will start (bye bye summer) before year 2 starts.

but looking forward to that time of no studying at least!!

its a roller-coaster ride, but still an adventure worth taking!

here's a couple pics of what i did this past weekend (before the test) to keep myself sane:

girls night at campo azul : amazing mexican food with abbi and taylor!

great book i finished...love francine rivers=)

so much has been going on....2011

2011-01-26T17:42:00.000-08:00

Wow, I cannot believe it has been so long since I've blogged..but at the same time, I know that I have been so incredibly busy and I am STILL so incredibly busy. I always feel like I have a million and one things

to do, that at the end of the day, sitting down on the computer to blog or do pictures is the last thing I want to do. I guess, I will have to forgo a lot of the pictures like I normally do so I can just write and catch everyone up on what's been going on.

So I haven't even blogged about this, but around late October/early November I started making shirts. Applique shirts, is what they are technically called. They look like spirit shirts and are just really fun to support whatever you want really-schools, teams, sports, teachers, whatever you like. A lot of teachers had been wearing them at my school and I was thinking about buying another one. Well it dawned on me, hey, I have always wanted to make one of those and now's a good a time as any so why not? So I did. That night I went home, and set out to make my own applique shirt. Well, I did and I really liked it! I was so proud of my work, b/c I have always wanted to get into sewing, but just not sure how. Well everyone at school loved the shirt too-and they started asking, so can you make those shirts? And without even thinking about it I enthusiastically said-YES! And that's when it began....

Before I knew it I was selling them on Etsy, where I now have my own shop and I sell a lot on there (feel free to check it out! )

r8chel06.etsy.com

I am blessed to be receiving orders from people, and am constantly making shirts in my free time. I have my own DBA now, 'Rachel Carl & Co' that does a variety of different things. I am still doing a lot of wedding calligraphy as well:

So I'm very excited about where all of this is heading. I also started giving piano lessons in November at my school and have 5 students. I give lessons after school on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. They are all girls and they are really doing a great job. They range in ages from 4-13. I am excited to continue with them, and hopeful that in the future I will be able to have more students.

Needless to say, I guess being the wife of a medical student doesn't faze me much since I have certainly found ways to keep myself busy where I don't notice that he is studying all night when I'm there. I feel that God has really led me to do these things for that reason, among others. Although I do wish I had more time! =) In our house near the master bedroom there is a utility room. I was doing my sewing back there on a table that Jordan made me back in high school, but it was really just getting to be too small and the area back there was cramped b/c it wasn't organized and there was just a lot of stuff everywhere. Since I started sewing it had gotten worse. I spent all my nights back there working, so Jordan was sweet enough to do this for me (it was my birthday present!!)

He took me to Ikea to get this awesome sewing desk and shelves and then put it together and helped

organize this whole room!!!

This is the side view where the washer and dryer are...he also put shelving above

this sink here, but they aren't pictured b/c they weren't up yet.

Closeup look at the sewing desk-it has a 'hidden' table that pulls out and allows

me to work at the side too-that is where I do most of my ironing and stuff.

The awesome white bins are from Ikea, they are made to hang at an angle-totally cool!

*I just had to give Jordan this shout out and post these pictures, b/c he was SO awesome

to do this for me when he is so busy with school and I appreciate it SO very much!

(Love you babe=)

Christmas was so awesome with our families, it was great to see everyone and get to just

hang out with friends and family in Dallas. We really miss being there, although, we definetely

feel like Galveston is our home right now=) I got to see my friends from High school:

Which by the way, one of my best friends-Lauren Coats is pregnant! (which is why we are touching her

round belly-in case you couldn't figure that one out!!) We are so excited for her! She is due with

her new baby girl, Sawyer, in April!

And we got to hang out with Gabe and Emma one day and go bowling which was SO fun!

We had a birthday at my parents house one night:

and one at the Carl's house another night:

I can't believe I'm 25 by the way!!!!

Jordan and I went with the Carls to see a musical Junie B Jones-it was so funny!!!!

We blew our own glass ornaments in Grapevine...that was an interesting and fun thing to do!

Of course, Madeline had her special time with Zeus:

Christmas morning on the steps-we got to see the Landers on Christmas day only-it was

such a fast time with them=( but it was fun:

It's Hayden's first Christmas:

and Tillie's first Christmas too!

We went to the Transiberean Orchestra with my family!!!!!!

There are tons of pictures on my shutterfly account from Christmas,

carlscorner2.shutterfly.com

If you want to check them out.

The day after Christmas (aka my bday=) we got up early and left to go back to Galveston.

Once we got home, we put away all the Christmas decorations and finished our

packing for Peru. We left around 6:00pm that night to go to someone's house near Houston to

get a few hours of rest before our flight left the next day to Peru.

Yes, I said Peru! Jordan and I had the wonderful opportunity to go on a medical mission trip

with UTMB's Hands and Feet Ministries to Peru. We were there from December 27-Jan 2nd

It was an amazing trip, and such a blessing from God. I am going to write another blog about that

experience. But, I just wanted to catch everyone up on what was going on in my life right now.

Jordan is still, of course, doing so well in medical school. I couldn't be more proud of him and how

hard he is working. I am still teaching at the same school, and I have some pretty bad days,

but I know that it's only for a season and it will get better over time. I did a big Christmas program

in December and it went really well! I will be doing another one in March with the little kiddos,

it should be interesting.

2011 is already here and we're almost one month through it. I can't believe how the time flies.

I also can't believe my big brother is getting married this April! I am so happy for him=)

For now, that's all I have. Have a blessed evening!

Thanksgiving Break

2011-01-08T15:05:00.000-08:00

Before we left-over at Phil and Amanda's for a pre-Thanksgiving Break

celebration!!

Thanksgiving morning!!

I was getting my hair ready! lol.

Zeus was preparing himself for the day. Madeline would soon be there...

Me with my doggies!! They are so cute and fluffy!

family pic.

on the couch studying before people got there. Jordan and Tillie!!

Grandpa and Josh!

working in the kitchen

Madeline and Zeus

cutting the TURKEY!!

Tillie=)

time to eat!

pies I made.

Corn Pudding and Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Jordan and Josh

DIG IN!

how sweet!!

Memaw and Tillie

Bella trying to find the cat.

Zeus trying to just be.

picture with the girls!!

We went outside to take our pictures for our Christmas cards 2010. Here it is!

I loved this one too=)

the end.

surprise visit!

2010-12-01T20:54:00.000-08:00

Like I said at the end of my Veterans Day post, Jordan's mom

surprised us and came to visit the night of the Veterans Program

Of course, Jordan was off to go study some more, so I had

company for the day which was nice!!!

On our 'errand running' we stumbled upon the cutest little

downtown area in League City!

How fitting is this little place??

we took some pictures

cute!!!

and found a really fun little tea room to have lunch.

She left the next morning, but it was a blessing to have seen her(it had been

over a couple months!) we wished we could have seen the rest of them,

but at least we had fun together!=)

Veterans Day Program

2010-11-28T09:27:00.000-08:00

Veterans Day at my school was so fun! I wanted to really instill in the students

a real sense of pride for their county and to understand how important it is

that we honor the people who serve in the military. I made it a big deal last year

at my school, and it has always been important to me. This year, it took on a new

meaning, since now my husband is in fact, in the military. I know he hasn't been in

very long, but I know there will be many sacrifices made for this decision down the

road. I was so thrilled to see the students actually excited about Veterans Day.

As it got closer, we started decorating the cafeteria and putting streamers everywhere, etc.

and the students would walk in and say 'ahhh! whoa, cool! wow, etc' it was neat to hear

them. One teacher has a student in first grade at our school. She came up to me the Monday before

Veterans day and said this, "Mrs. Carl, do you know what Elliot said when I woke him up

this morning?", I said, "What?" She goes, "He said to me-'mommy, do you know what

today is? Its the week of Veterans Day!'" He was so excited and actually knew what

Veterans Day was. I was so glad to hear it, it really made me glad for all the work and hours

I had put into this thing! =) I was happy to do it though, its the least we can do!

So there was a lot of decorating that went on:

Here are all the branches of the military posters I made-don't laugh at the Air Force one!

It's harder than it looks!!

thank you Cricut for the letters above=)

BIG THANK YOU to Jordan for getting on the top of a ladder to put those flag streamers up

when he had a test coming up!!!

This is from the back of the cafeteria looking at the stage.

We made a humongous floor to ceiling American Flag on the stage out of butcher paper!!

One of the teachers at our school did the balloon pillars=)

Red white and blue streamers:

The Dickinson VFW came and let us use their flags for decoration and

they were a great help before it started. Great men!

The Dickinson High School JR ROTC came to perform for the program!

It was really cool. They had a huge part in making the program very cool.

The Veterans Day Program (yes I see the typo...long story)

People are arriving-it was getting full!!

I had the students fill out a survey back in September of whether or not they had a Veteran

in their family. They filled it out and gave it back to me with a picture.

I then proceeded to get the address of the Veteran and we send them each a personalized

invitation (on this flag paper) that invited them to come to the event.

Then we took their picture and I made a slideshow of all the Veterans stating

their name, branch, rank and what student they are related to at our school. We showed

that slideshow after the Poem Reading on there. (There were over 150 pictures!)

passing out programs to the Veterans.

(you can see Phil in the background=)

It was a full house-standing room in the back!!!

Some Veterans are standing b/c they heard their branch being called.

We handed out the 'buddy poppies' to them as well=)

Presentation of the colors at the beginning.

If you look at our 'flag' we used students at our school with parents in the military-

their handprints were used to make the stars=)

Every grade level (PreK-4th grade) performed that night.

And each grade wore a certain color (red, white or blue)

This is first grade singing 'Oh, I love America' with their A-M-E-R-I-C-A signs!

(sorry I have to make it small!)

Doing their drills with the replica guns. It was really neat when they spun 'em around

and they threw them in the air!

walking up in silence.

The folding of the flag (with taps) was a the end. It was so powerful.

We did this right after the slideshow of all the Veterans. The whole cafeteria was completely

silent, it was so neat. So many Veterans teared up, and were touched. I was so proud of the

students and the great job everyone did!

Yay my husband came, and Phil and Amanda. I was so glad they were there!!

He brought me beautiful flowers too, which was exciting=)

Guess who else surprised me and came??? Jordan's mom!!! Mrs. Carl

drove down and totally surprised me to come to the program! It was

so cool when I looked over and saw her in the audience!!! (I have a blog about this

to come soon!=) It was really neat.

At the end of the program, apparently my school had all

pitched in and they presented these beautiful flowers to me !!!

Of course, I had no idea this was coming, and I started crying in front of

everyone=) It was already an emotional program, and then seeing Mrs. Carl

and everything, I just kind of lost it. But I was pleasantly surprised

by their sweetness! I did not expect anything, so it was very kind of them.

They were beautiful in my classroom.

The flowers from Jordan were beautiful in our home=)

It was overall a great performance and experience. I couldn't have done such a big

performance without all the help! I was so humbled to see so many people there.

The Superintendent of my district came, as well as the Director of Fine Arts! So

I was a little stressed, but it turned out so wonderfully! The Veterans Day

Program is my favorite one to put on all year, but I am thankful now

it is over=) I can relax.

Thanks for reading, and don't forget to thank our military!

worst pumpkin carving!!

2010-11-23T19:02:00.000-08:00

pickin out my pumpkin!!

Ready to go home and do some serious carving! (Jordan

got his for free at school...)

Maybe a bit too ambitious....

oopsie!

it was just commical at this point...

I was determined!!

don't mess with my pumpkin!!

my middle fell apart too though=)

It was a fun learning experience!

by far the worst pumpkins we have ever carved..

haha look at jordans!! lol. It was supposed to be Darth Vador.

creepy sky!

so cute!!

I love our doggies, they are just so adorable=)

Hope yall had a great Halloween....this was the extent of ours! =) lol.

Parents in Town!!!

2010-11-07T19:43:00.000-08:00

Going to Oktoberfest downtown!!!

It was hosted by First Lutheran of Galveston

So glad to have my hubby back after TEst day!!

Our friends sabotaging our pictures!!

Adam and Stacy, bein silly

Phil and Amanda

Our Groupe of friends!!!!

There was a great band, and Jordan couldn't resist showing off his moves!

haha

Watching the end of the Rangers vs. Yankee's game after that...let's just remember

how great that was...

Sitting out on the porch after all that fun!!!

Next day meeting up with Jordan at the Wings Over Houston Air Show

(he was asked to volunteer at the medical clinic there that morning)

walking around lookin at stuff!

ready to see some planes!!

IT was a gorgeous day, but a little windy!!!

his extra shirt became his 'sun shield' for his neck....classy.

Here are some pics I took of the Thunderbirds:

MY FAVORITE ONE:

Planes after they landed:

My parents left early Sunday morning. We really enjoyed having them here and getting

to experience such fun stuff together here on the island!!

Lately...in Galveston

2010-10-10T19:22:00.000-07:00

So I wanted to update everyone on things going on here in Galveston.

We have really settled in nicely and found some amazing friends here!!

We went to the military day at the Astro's game! It was a lot of fun!!!

Me and Jordan=) Phil and Amanda-he's in the AF too! Stacy & Adam-our other close friends came too!

(PS these 2 guys-Phil & Adam are good friends of Jordan's, so it works out nicely for us girls!)

It was a beautiful evening! (kinda windy though...)

And, I always enjoy seeing my man in his uniform=)

Another thing I've been up to- I started a 'wives club' at UTMB!

I was shocked to hear that there wasn't one (the last one was back in 2004)

and UTMB told me I could start a new one, so I did!!

We are called SOMS (Spouses of Medical Students)

Its been so great meeting new ladies that are going through the

same thing! We are doing about 2-5 things a month together, so its lots of fun!

The pictures below should get most (but not all) of the women in our group at various events=)

At the Mod Coffee House=)

from left: Stacy, Me, Kirsten, Caitlin, Kate, Heather,Whitney & her baby Jayden

Amanda(in pink) and then Jacklyn with her baby boy Luke!

(Just FYI-Kirsten is the wife of 3rd yr med student,

Caitlin and Jacklyn are wives of a 2nd yr med student and

Heather just married a 4th yr-

the rest of us are wives of 1st years)

Me and Kate, Whitney & Jayden!, Me with Jayden! Jacklyn & Luke, Me and Amanda!

On the Strand at the Art Walk:

Lissett, Kate, Taylor and Amanda!

In one of the cute shops!!

Lissett (w/ her 2nd baby on the way! Amanda, Kate, Taylor & Me!

I love these girls they are so much fun! And I feel so blessed to have

found so many wives that know exactly how I feel! It is so great to have

that type of support system, and people that I can share my heart with,

and pray with while we go through this LONG and difficult journey.

Its such a blessing, and something that I need to remind myself of,

that God takes care of us, even when we feel that He has maybe forgotten

about us, or what we're going through, He knows what we need

and what will get us through and He graciously gives it.

Crystal Beach....bonfire time.

2010-10-07T19:11:00.000-07:00

All dressed up for Jordan's Orientation day and Poker Night at UTMB=)

Hayden is just such a cutie! I want to keep him=)

one day..... haha=)

I love the look on his face here

He's such a happy boy!

Having yummy smores on Crystal Beach:

Bonfire at night on the beach, so serene:

It was a great night. We are always so grateful to have family visit,

even if its a couple days! The beach is so calming and such a reminder to

me of God's steadfast love, that never fails.

White Coat Ceremony-UTMB 2010

2010-10-05T19:32:00.000-07:00

In medical school they always have a white coat ceremony before the

first year med students begin. Then at the end of medical school they have

another ceremony when they are actually MD's and they get the 'long coat'.

You can distinguish a DR from a student by the length of their coat by the way.

Anyway, it was great to have Jordan's family here to celebrate and share this very special

occasion. I can't help it, I had to cry when I saw Jordan walk across that stage and

get his white coat. It was about 5 years ago that he told me he wanted to be a DR.

I thought he was sort of joking, but he said, 'no really, I'm being serious, its something

I've always wanted to do, and I know that God is calling me to it-so I'm going to

go for it'. It feels like that was forever ago....and look where we are now.

Jordan is doing great in medical school (by the way-since he's been in over a month now)

He had his first test a couple weeks ago and did fabulous!!

His schedule is pretty much this (it does vary on some days):

Works out at 6am-7am (crazy i know!)

Goes to class and Anatomy lab around 8-12

Lunch break=)

POM (practice of medicine) from 2-5

And then from 5-10pm he studies!!!

Yes, he takes the dinner break and we watch Andy Griffith,

it is so eventful=) But its the little things right?

I just thought some people might be interested, or curious in what his day to day is like.

And if you think he just relaxes on the weekend, think again! We usually

do something at night, but ALL day he studies. Of course we sleep in on

Saturday morning and Sunday morning is church, but the rest of the

time its study study study!!

I am SO grateful for our house though. It really is a blessing. The reason being

is b/c Jordan has a nice big study room in the back where he can't hear

what's going on in the rest of the house. And also b/c its so close to school

we get to have people over a lot and its very convenient for him!

Anyway, enough babbling, here are the pictures from the White Coat Ceremony:

We are definitely getting out money out of this Air Force uniform=)

I'm just kidding, he wanted to wear it since he is in there for medical

school, it seemed fitting.

SUPER HANDSOME!

Apparently I enjoy taking pictures of him walking off...

Anyway, he's going to turn RIGHT on this street here and the medical school

is literally right there!! so close=)

SWEEEEEEEET.

Hayden was mystified! =)

We got this.

With his family!

So there is one other student in Jordan's class that is in the Air Force, his name

is Phil! They were actually both at COT this summer in AL for training!!

Anyway, Phil and Amanda just got married and they live across the street from us=)

We have a lot of fun with them!!

Lots of fun!!!

Future Dr. Carl (woot woot!)

I LOVE this pictures of us! And I am so proud of my husband!!

Don't worry, this is the last post about Jordan for awhile=) He's too busy to be in

pictures anymore anyway, lol.

AF Parade

2010-10-03T15:00:00.000-07:00

I can't believe its been 2 months since I have updated Jordan's Graduation Parade. Well, better late than never. The day after Jordan's graduation they had a Graduation parade. All of the graduates learned how to march correctly, and were presented as their last thing before being finished with Officer Training School.

Here are some pictures from that awesome day! (Although it was WAY hot in Alabama, let me tell you!)

After the parade we went in their 'flight room' and the Flight Commander gave out awards

'Outstanding Achievement' in Flight Contribution! =)

Taking some pictures afterwards outside with our graduate!

What a beautiful day!!!

The kiddo's wanted to see him in his ABU's, so we took some pics with them

back at the hotel=) They had their coordinating outfits!

We went out to eat at Five Guys Burgers and Fries. You can tell he is worn out!=)

My favorite picture:

Air Force Graduation Ceremony

2010-09-11T13:13:00.000-07:00

Jordan went to Commissioned Officer Training in July. He left on June 28th, it was

hard to say goodbye to him for 5 weeks! But, it was good to see him on July 30th=)

This was Jordan's roomate Chris. Jordan and Chris actually

both received Distinguished Graduate in their Flight at COT!

Way to go you guys!!!

Here is Jordan's flight-the Golf Flight.

(no, they did not go golfing....every letter has a 'word associated' with it,

and G happens to be Golf)

Lt. Jordan Carl

Check out my studly husband=) I am so proud of him!!

Here are some pictures we took after the Graduation cermony:

After all the picture-taking Jordan went back to his dorm to change into

'Civilian clothing' and they were allowed to leave the base and go eat with their families!

I love this picture of him. He was at Maxwell Air Force Base, it was pretty:

We celebrated and got some hibachi that night! Jordan was glad to have 'normal food'

and not food from the mess hall anymore=)

It was a great evening!

Gabe and Emma were of course so proud and excited to see their big

brother!!!

after dinner he went back to Maxwell. The Graduation Parade was the next

morning! And then I would get my husband back=)

kids just love the water!

2010-08-23T19:21:00.000-07:00

Before I left at the end of July to go back to Dallas for my trip to Alabama,

the Carls and Landers came and brought the kiddos! It was so much fun

to be around them and hang out at the beach! I am so glad they got to come, it

really helped me with that last stretch before I could see Jordan, and we had

a great time!!! Just look at the pics!!!

YAY for being in Galveston!!

WE LOVE SHIPLEYS!

yum yum gum gum. we sent that picture to jordan at COT!

riding the waves, before the storm comes!

starting that castle.

ITS SO FUN!!

gotta love 'freshly rained on sand'!

DIRT!!!

huh??

the storm kinda ruined the poor castle. oh well!

having a blast. this picture is so candid, I promise.

sending it to my hubby...

at La King's!

walking on the strand..

such cuties!

oh yea, they're cool.

eeeeeek!! waiting for the ferry!!

feeding the seagulls=)

with all the kiddos!!

the following pictures are really neat!

i love this picture=they are just having a blast looking at dolphins and getting soaked with splashes=)

The Laurens!!!

2010-08-07T10:09:00.000-07:00

It sounds like a family, although they sort of are like family, it actually means

Lauren and Lauren=) They came to visit me in Galveston!!

I was so very excited to have some 'girl only time'.

They have been my good friends since elementary and I am

so very blessed to have their friendship!!

Lauren and Lauren=)

Lauren (coats) was in LOVE with Zeus, I was worried

she was going to put him in her suitcase. She wanted to keep him, but

of course, you know, Jordan would never allow that! lol

Going to the beach with all our gear! We were ready for it!!!!

hard core.

ahhh...the beautiful beaches of Galveston=) hehe

gettin our tan on!!

I wrote this for Jordan since he was away...sand graffiti

going out that evening to the Spot for some dinner!!

walking around on the Strand a little bit...fun times!!

Lauren's hair in the ocean wind! =)

Then we went back to the house to play BUZZ, it was intense.

The next day we decided to go to the pool! It was much more

relaxing without all the sand and umbrellas and stuff....

Gettin ready for Kemah! I dressed up specifically to send Jordan a nice picture of me

on my phone. My dress kind of blends with the rug, haha.

walking on Kemah boardwalk.

Beautiful friends!!! :

They left the next day =( I had a lot of fun with them here, and hope they can

come back sometime!!!

Miss you girls!!!

2010-08-05T09:29:00.000-07:00

the weekend before Jordan left for his AF training we went back up

to Dallas to spend the weekend with family (and so I could stay there

for a week and not be alone!)

It was a lot of fun, and good memories were made!

Are we surprised that I wanted to take pictures together?

I like this one

we were actually having a BBQ with my family, it was good to be

with everyone

TILLIE!

she's so cute, and so little=)

And of course, Madeline LOVES Zeus, I'm not sure the feeling

is mutual though..hahaha

we swam in the pool, or the guys did anyway...

LOL

The next day we headed over to the Carls house to spend time with

them as well. Its funny how both households have small babies-

it definitely is nice to be around them, they are both so sweet.

At dinner!!! Look at that piece of meat! (not jordan, =) the actual piece of

meat on the table, lol.

Little Hayden and his shower cap!!!

the next morning we had breakfast with Hayden on the table! haha

Then I made Jordan take more pictures, poor guy! I said he had to make

up for being gone a month and all the pictures he would miss!! =)

So THEN...Jordan surprised me. Our Anniversary is on July 8th, and

he of course was going to be gone for his training since he left

June 28th. I had NO idea, we left the Carls and he took me to the Gaylord Texan

for our 'mini-anniversary trip'!!!

I have always wanted to stay here, and he remembered me saying that

a while back. Plus its close to the airport=) hehe.

It was SUCH an unexpected surprise. To get to be with him alone before

he left, and to celebrate our 4 YEAR anniversary! I can't believe it! Time really flies.

Walking around the Gaylord Resort.

I love the San Antonio feel you get here. Especially since that's where

we were when he asked me to be his girlfriend back a LONG time ago=)

Since I didn't know we were going I didn't really have 'appropriate clothes'

like I would have liked, you know a nice dress or something. But it didn't

really matter, I was so glad to have the time with him.

the next morning was so hard saying goodbye, especially since we have never

been apart for more than a week before, and this was 5 weeks.

The Lord definitely saw us through, and it was so nice to have so many people

come visit in Galveston to help me pass the time. Of course, he

was just having a blast getting up every morning at 4am to go do

Physical Training and then class and moredrills, etc

and then not getting to bed every night until about 11 or 12! I dont know

how he could do that, but he did. And he still managed

to call me almost every night=) And let me just say, iphones are

really helpful when you have someone that is far away from you-everytime I had

friends/family over we would take pictures and send them to

Jordan so he felt like he was there. He said it really helped him not feel so far away.

I am CERTAINLY glad he is back now=) and I still have a lot of blogging to

catch up on, but I thought this was a good start.

Thanks!

island visitors!!

2010-07-16T16:02:00.000-07:00

our first island visitors .....

John and Nisreen

went to the beach the first day. John is scoping out the best place

for our newly purchased umbrella to go...

ah yes, and Jordan begins the dig out...

ta dah! Our new umbrella. I didn't realize that I would be the

one digging all those holes for the umbrella after he left for training!!

chillin under the umbrella....dorito style...

in the water. Jordan wanted to play games like "who can hold a handstand the

longest, and who can run the fastest back to the shore." reason #1 I stayed

on the beach. haha

we went to the Aquarium at Kemah that night! It was so pretty inside!

typical guy pose here...

on top of the aquarium is a really neat rooftop terrace. It is so beautiful, we got to see

the sunset on Galveston Bay! and hear the band, as well as see the crazy fire

juggling, chair holding, ball dribbling guy! lol

I love all the oleander bushes in Galveston!

on the beach day 2-notice some of the sunburns...

ahh...relaxing at moody gardens to bands in the sands. The band was actually really

awesome and the fireworks were good too! Again, another beautiful sunset to

enjoy with my honey before he left.=)

then my family came to visit for the 4th of July (notice

our super festive clothing...except josh's purple polo...)

at Kemah again...they'd never been. that's what happens when

you live in a vacation spot, you get to visit all the same places

over and over=) haha

It was SOOOOOO hot on the 4th.

waiting on seawall for the fireworks!!

Josh is not a fan of fireworks by the way. We said he was 'unpatriotic' for that one.

this picture came out really weird, haha. our faces look plastic.

yay! tons of people as you can see. we were kind of sitting far back.

Hotel Galvez for breakfast -so yum.

and then some shots my mom took of me randomly by myself!

of course, I sent them all to jordan, haha.

by the way, I dug the hole for the umbrella this time!

out at the Hilton pool!! soakin it in!

we did the tour at the bishop's palace. it was so neat to see the

beautiful wood and history inside!

Our front at the Bishop's palace. I was so sad to see them go!

boo.

I have had more visitors since then, but I'll have to save it for another blog=)

thanks for reading!!

family.

2010-07-13T09:10:00.000-07:00

Since we've moved to Galveston, its been hard not to miss family! We have been so used

to both sides of our families being within 45 minutes of us. Its such

a blessing to have both sets of families and to get along equally with

both. I know that is not the case in most marriages, and its something

we are very grateful for.

Before we left we decided to 'share' time between the families.

Here we are at my parents house the night before we left:

getting to hold Tillie one more time!!

He looks good with a baby doesn't he? =)

matt and peyton playin in the pool.

my dad-the fierce griller!

then we all got our 'rock band' on! it was soo funny!!

josh was quite the singer. especially for jackson 5 songs=)

i tried the drums....tried

then madeline had her way with the microphone!!!

before that we were at the Carls house. Jeff and Becca

happened to be visiting for Jeff's sister's graduation that was near that same time.

IT was so great to get to see them (since they live in Kansas) and

their super cute kiddos!

We decided to take some family photos!!

That's a lot of kids! =)

From the left (for those of you who aren't familiar with

who's who): Jeff and Becca (Jordan's sister and husband) and

on their laps Jayce and Grace

then there's me and Jordan, with his little brother and sister on our laps:

Gabe and Emma.

Then Kelsey (Jordan's sister) and our newest nephew Hayden! =)

Holding Hayden!!

I love this picture! And I really miss my husband!!

For those of you who don't know, Jordan is in Alabama currently fulfilling

his Air Force Officer Training for his Health Professions

Scholarship. Its hard to be here on the island without him and without family.

But I've had plently of visitors which has been so fun!

We've never had a place where people could come visit 'comfortably' so I really

love that about our new place. I'm hoping to take some updated pictures and

post about the new house soon!!

But, if you'd like to come to the beach, we are right here!!!

We miss our friends and family. hope to see them soon!

Ted's Wedding

2010-06-23T10:23:00.000-07:00

Ted and Megan got married on June 4th! It was great to be a part of their

special day=) The first set of pictures are from the rehearsal dinner:

Springcreek BBQ!

Jordan sang while I played 'Out of My League' at the wedding

how can you not laugh at teddy sometimes right?=)

Hangin out with the girls!!

fun pictures by Agung afterwards!

=) do you like the converse with the tux? lol

reception time!!

yum!

good times!!!

time to go!!!

Tillie Time!!!

2010-06-17T16:41:00.000-07:00

My new niece Tillie came on June 3rd!

Here we are at her shower:

Look how cute Tillie's Nursery is!!

The 2 'grandmoms', or Nana and Memaw=)

The bucket I made for Tillie's room with diapers

and hair bows!!

Cute outfits!

I love this snail outfit-picture of her outfits on the crib.

In the delivery room-Peyton and Madeline are excited!

TRying to get a closer look.

It took Madeline's breath away ! She was so excited!!

When Tillie made a little noise, Madeline said, 'Wow'. =)

big brother's turn!

The whole family!

Josh and Jennifer with Tillie!

Excited!

Precious little girl!

so very sweet.

UNTHSC Graduation and Commission...

2010-06-13T18:27:00.000-07:00

May 15th was Jordans graduation from UNTHSC with his Masters of Medical Science

It was a loooong ceremony, but worth the wait. Kinda funny story, I ran out

of batteries in my camera in the ceremony, so I ran out to the car to get more

then my shoe broke, so I got in the car and drove to a shoe boutique that

was like 1/2 a mile from the event (in fort worth area by TCU)

bought a pair of flip flops-went back to the graduation, ran

all the way from the far away parking lot and made it back in time before he

walked across the stage. Needless to say, I did take those shoes back (b/c I

had just bought them!!!) and I am still enjoying my

$25 flipflops!! lol.

With the graduate!!

Becca flew in from Kansas to be here!!

Hayden is obviously THRILLED!

For some reason my camera was shaky...boo! There he is though walking

waiting to walk

the coliseum I ran around

Becca, Hayden and Kelsey

after the graduation waiting to take some pictures and do the commissioning.

As you know from previous posts jordan has joined the Air Force

for Health Professions Scholarships-here he is getting commissioned as

an Officer into the Air Force by Lt. Morgan!!

It was neat to be there and get both of these things done on the same day!

Now he is Lt. Carl in the Air Force!

with his sisters! with his brother, Gabe (my family was out of town=(

Proud Parents I'm sure!

with his recruiter, Sgt. Lochrie out front

pretty excited=) I couldn't be more proud!!!

we went to railhead to eat afterwards-here he is opening some cards/gifts

his AF coin

Finally back home....with his new diploma!! They get bigger apparently=)

It was a fun day, and so nice to have family together!!

I am so proud of Jordan completing an entire masters in one year-while working 2 part time

jobs, its really amazing. He has great dedication and works hard at

everything he does, I am excited to see what a great medical student he will

be and an absolutely fantastic doctor! 4 more years!!

time with friends and family...

2010-05-31T09:59:00.000-07:00

I can't believe tomorrow is JUNE! What is going on? Everything is too fast.

We're almost done packing, and I'm trying to also

catch up on my blog as well (I hate when it gets behind!) I want

to make a 'blog book' at the end of the year and if I don't make sure everything

gets in it in order it will be messed up=) Plus I like to update people that

care enough to follow/read it!

I still need to update with pics from lots of other stuff that's happened this month

but for now I will leave you with these things that happened the

first couple weeks of May=)

ONe of Jordan's best friends is getting married this week! This is

at his couple's shower!!

Ted and Jordan=)

With his fiance, Megan!

We got to see Caleb and Amanda!

Grommsmen: Stephen, Jordan, Caleb and Ted

Opening gifts!!

Going to celebrate Mother's Day!!=)

Dinner with a bunch of girlfriends I will MISS so much!!

Friday Night Pre-Pokeno Night Dinner at Ojeda's!!

Pictures from Kelsey's Birthday Party

SURPRISE! Becca flew in from Kansas to celebrate, see

Hayden and go to Jordan's graduation/commissioning!!!

Brother and sister!!

THE big 20!!!

So good to get to be with them!

wrapping up April>

2010-05-13T20:43:00.000-07:00

Lots has been going on, so let me see if I can catch everything up to speed (or a lot of it)

in this blog post....

starting with:

Lakeview Church

Jordan and I have been leading worship together for over 7 years. I say

leading worship 'together', but really it's all Jordan. I just

ride in the car with him to and from-make sure his guitar gets unpacked,

copies of the songs are made, and he has plenty of coffee and water

at his fingertips=) hehe. I guess I'm more like the 'roadie', but I still

like to say that we do it 'together' b/c we do do it technically

together=) I hope that made sense! Wow, what a ramble..

Anyway, the last Sunday in May was our last time to lead worship in

Sunday morning service. We have SO enjoyed our time and been blessed by

the people at Lakeviw Community Church-who have been much more than a

community to us, they have been more like a great big family! We

met so many great godly people there, we will miss them very much!!

these are just some shots taken from our last Sunday there...

They have a quilter's group of ladies at this church, and let me just say-these ladies GOT SKILLS!

They are amazing at quilts and FAST! =)

They always make one when someone has a baby...and I always have coveted them.

haha-I know-terrible, but I admit it! I am so nostalgic, I just love that

kind of stuff, and I love quilts, so it was a double whammy!

Anyway, they were SO very sweet and they made us a 'going away quilt'!

It is BEAUTIFUL!!! And it will look great in our Galveston home-

a great way to remember them.

Oh, Im making a face at Jordan b/c he felt like the quilt was really

a gift for 'me'=) lol. He was just joking though-he really does like it

and will equally cherish it.

So the next Sunday was Easter-and for the first time in I can't even remember

we got to go to church with MY parents! It was really a blessing to get to

go and worship with them. My brother Josh and Jennifer-also go to this church

so we got to spend it with them as well.

Josh and Jennifer after church

then we went over tot he Carls for lunch and we got to Skype with

the Landers ! (I guess that's what we'll be doing next year =(

haha-looks like Jayce and Grace are doing well!!! =)

Apparently I really like taking single shots of Jordan with Gabe and Emma

maybe I should start just having them take it with both of them in the picture..

then I had my April PTA program at school-it was called BUGZ!

and the kiddos were super cute! I loved their costumes, they turned out well!!

This song is 'Firefly' notice the lighting effect=) They were awesome!

2nd grade by the way...

Then I had my last concert for the choir that I was in:

Arlington Master Chorale

that same week! We did the Mozart Requiem-it was very powerful,

and a great experience. I really enjoyed singing with this choir this year.

I hope to find one in Galveston !!!

And then the last saturday in April (I guess to round out the incredibly music-filled

month!) Jordan had the opportunity to play at his cousin Ben's church

Lakeridge for their Saturday night service!

He played the electric which was a nice relaxing change for him=)

they played really well. I enjoyed getting to listen and sing along.

I am currently working on making a DVD of Jordan and all

the music stuff he's done, but I am just scrambling around for time....=)

I will get it done this summer though-that is my goal!

still on march...oops.

2010-05-13T20:10:00.000-07:00

I can't believe how fast time is flying!!! Obviously I can tell everyone else is busy b/c no one else seems to be updating their blogs these days!! I miss reading other people blogs, and I still wish more people (especially my family!!) did blogs, I really enjoy them=)

Anyway, here are some more things from MaRcH!!!!

It's Springtime which means its baseball time again!

Gabe is getting really good at Baseball and we really enjoy watching his

games and hanging out with the family. This particular night we went to

one of Jordan and I's favorite places: Auntie Anne's! Then

we went to see 'How to Tame Your Dragon' which was SO good-

yes, I cried!! I know-pitiful. But I just have a soft spot for cute

things-EVEN if they are dragons=)

At Firewheel-what a pretty background!

That same weekend my brother was in his best friend's wedding-

and he was the best man! Go figure. Anyway, Paul, a longtime

friend of the family, and former GCA graduate got married!!

Katie (who is a twin by the way!) looked gorgeous-I loved

her dress!!!! so unique=)

There's my brother on the right-trying really hard to concentrate...lol

GORGEOUS chapel in Fort Worth!!!

Paul and Katie Ingram!!

Thought this was a cool picture with the veil

Reception was at the Reata in Fort Worth.

I love the pic with all the girls!!

They're next-April 2010!

The happy couple=)

Madeline's Birthday!

2010-05-02T16:31:00.000-07:00

Remember that random day it snowed in March? Yea, well, that was my niece,

Madeline's Birthday!! How cool is that!!?

She had a strawberry shortcake birthday party and it was a blast=)

My mom and Peyton (Madeline's big bro!)

The card I made for Madeline=)

Papi and Peyton

Madeline being a little princess!!!!! =)

Josh and Jennifer!!!

Me and my mom in our 'swirly shirts' =)

Opening gifts

this cracks me up!

Jordan and I got her rollerskates! They were a hit!

Jennifer and I!

Madeline got a PINK BARBIE JEEP!!!! so cute!

Me and my handsome husband! =)