Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Weekend Recap

Well, the holiday gave me a 4 day weekend at home in Howell County. It was a great weekend too and the fact that I had only been in Columbia for 5 days made it even better. Now, I am stuck here for two weeks.

I had Bar Prep class til 3:30 on Friday which left me leaving town a little later than usual. When I got in town, dinner had already started. Mom planned a little birthday party for my nephew Brody. He turned 3 on Sunday. It is hard to believe. We had homemade tacos and ice cream sundaes - great birthday!





Brody has really taken up with Chris. Brody thinks they are best buddies and it is adorable to see them together. Makes me really excited about starting a family with Chris some day (way in future). Kolton and Brody ended up staying at the house Friday night, sleeping in my bedroom floor. They played for a bit, jumping from my bed to theirs and Chris and I sat in the bed and read them bedtime stories (my mom loved this and thought it was so cute. She is so ready for us to have kiddos too).

I was up early on Saturday. Brody got up with me. We watched some TV and drank chocolate milk. He went with me to wake Chris up and check on the cows. I spent the day running errands and shopping with my mom. We took flowers to her parents and sister's graves. I go with her every year and every year, it is still hard. I just wish that they were here to share in these special moments with me. We had steaks with my parents for dinner. Chris and I then headed to town to visit with his aunt and uncle.

Sunday and Monday were productive days for me at the house. I spent the majority of each days painting, cleaning and doing laundry. Chris hates painting so he spend the days outside building fence, mowing the yard and cutting trees. I didn't get the bathroom all set up yet. I don't really trust Chris with a beige and white shower curtain when I am not there. It would end up with grease and oil all over it. Only room left to paint is the master bedroom and it will be a pain in the butt. Honestly, I have thought about paying to have it done.

I left town today around noon. Tomorrow I have to go back to bar prep class. Luckily this week classes are only til 12:30. My thoughts will be distracted tomorrow though. Chris's mom is having a hysterectomy tomorrow morning. The docs found a tumor on her ovaries about a week ago. We were blessed to find out that the tumor was not cancer, but due to the fact that she has had cancer before, the doctors decided to do the full surgery instead of just removing the tumor. If you are the praying kind, please be thinking of her tomorrow.

Time to finish my grocery list for tomorrow and get in bed. Hope that you all had a great weekend too!


Wednesday, May 25, 2011

What I am Loving Wednesday





It is break time during BarBri right now, so I thought I would share a few of my blessings for the day.


I am loving the fact I have been able to communicate with those I know in Joplin to ensure their safety. Still praying for the families that are still unsure about their love ones and the families that have lost loved ones and everything else in their life.

I am loving that I got my first proof of our wedding invitations yesterday. Although I didn't care for them and we are making major changes, it was still pretty exciting to see it in black and white.

I am loving the fact that in just two days I will be back home in Howell County for 4 days. I think since I ran off to college, this has been the shortest period of time I have been away from home.

I am loving the big plans for the weekend, even if it all involves paint. I plan to paint a spare bedroom, our master bath and our shepherd hooks for the wedding. I need to paint our master bedroom, but I cannot do the ceiling by myself and Chris till be building fence.


I am loving the love that I have in Christopher. He is amazing to me and the past seven and a half years have been great with him. Looking forward to a lifetime together - just 122 days til the wedding.


Sorry for the lack of pictures - our breaks aren't that long.

Monday, May 23, 2011

Back and now officially a graduate

Well, first off, I would like to apologize for my absence the past couple of weeks. Graduation weekend was crazy busy. There were 35 people of my family and Chris's that made the trip to Columbia to see me graduate. Graduation weekend was full of activity. Saturday night the 14th, mom had reserved a room at Lonestar Steakhouse.








It was a fun night. After dinner, I drove my dad around campus so he could see where I spent the past 6 years of my life. It had been decades since he had a visit to Mizzou. Most of the guests went back to the hotel to swim. I stayed up for a while talking to Chris and my grandma and playing with Dozer (yes, the dog came to visit too).

Sunday morning I was up super early with Dozer. People started showing up at my apartment at 10. It was pretty hectic having lunch for so many people and getting dressed, but we left to make it on time. Graduation started at 1:30 and it was seriously one of the greatest experiences of my life. Attorney General Chris Koster was our guest speaker and his speech was fantastic.







 My nephew Kolton just graduated from preschool so of course we had to show off tassels together. I just didn't have my diploma yet. I had a wonderful week at home. It was relaxing and perfect. Saturday night was the big graduation party. There was so much family that didn't get to make it to Columbia, so my mom and Chris's mom hosted a party for me. Several members of our families made the food and I had the coolest cake. 91 people came out to celebrate with us. I stood there looking at all the people just before dinner started and thought about how blessed Chris and I are to have such great families. Entertain was provided by the sheriff himself and other friends and family.







I am working on thank you cards as we speak. My bar prep class started today and luckily this week we do not have homework. I thought I would try to get thank you cards out while I had the time. I better get back at it. Hopefully, I will get better about being in the groove of blogging again. It is time to start worrying about the wedding more too. Hope that you all have a good week. If you are the praying kind, please say an extra prayer for those in southwest Missouri, specifically Joplin, who were hit pretty bad with a tornado yesterday. The pictures are devastating and I wish that I could help more than I can!

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

What I am Loving Wednesday


It is time for a small study break, so I thought that I would take a few minutes to share what I am loving today. If you are interested in sharing yourself, don't forget to tag up here.

I apologize in advance for the lack of pictures. My study break isn't going to be that long!



~ I am loving that at approximately 4:30 p.m. this afternoon I will be completely done with law school!!!


~ I am loving that so much of my family and Chris's family are coming up to attend my graduation/hooding ceremony on Sunday. I cannot wait to see everyone!

~ I am loving that I have received 3 facebook messages this morning cheering me on as I face this last exam - I feel very loved and very blessed.

~ I am loving that I get a week off between finals and the bar prep class (last year's graduates did not get this break)

~ I am loving the warmer weather that we have been having. I enjoy sitting in the house with all the windows open smelling the fresh air.

~ I am loving my Nook that I received from my parents on my birthday. I cannot wait until this evening to spend more time with it!

~ I am loving my dearest Christopher. He is has been amazingly supportive as I chased my career dreams 200 miles away from him. He is my rock and I am so thankful that he is in my life!

Ok, back to the books. Hope this Wednesday is treating you all well!

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Happy Mother's Day!

Well, it is a little late in the day, but I have been a busy gal. I need to update y'all on what has been going on here, but it might be later in the week before I get around to that unless I take a study break in the next couple of days.

Well today is mother's day and my father's birthday! Last year I wrote a great piece on my mom last year. If you want to read it, go to here. I am more than ecstatic that this is the last year that I have to be away from my family on this special weekend. I am thankful that my parents understand why I am not there.

It is late and I won't go on and on about my mom this year like I did last year. I need to review my notes some more before going to bed. But I will write a little something about two very special ladies in my life.

Joyce Ann - My God given mother


I cannot explain the appreciation that I have for this woman! She is one of my best friends and I never go a day without having a conversation (some days multiple times) with her. She is supportive of everything that I do! I cannot imagine my life without her. I seriously could go on and on about her!

Cheryl Diane - My inherited mother



She came into my life about eight years ago through my dearest Christopher. She has been supportive of Chris and I from day 1 and took me in as a part of the family. There was no doubt that we would have a special relationship. There are many horror stories about crazy mothers in law, but I got lucky!

I am looking forward to seeing both of these wonderful ladies next weekend and the weekend after! We have lots to celebrate!

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Weekend Recap

The weekend was not a very exciting one. It's finals time here at Mizzou Law and I spend my life studying. I did take a few well deserved breaks.

I had dinner with my sister-in-law Jennifer and her family. They were in town for my niece to perform at State Musical Festival. I had an enjoyable dinner then it was back to the house for studying.

Saturday morning I got up and started studying early (this will be a common trend). I took an early morning break to watch my niece perform with her music ensemble. The all girls group from Houston did a great job! I really wanted to spend the day shopping with them, but knew I needed to be back at the house. I spent the rest of the day studying. For dinner, I did allow myself out of the house long enough to have a joint birthday dinner with Maggie.


Dinner was at Chilis. They give the best free dessert when its your birthday. It was a bitter sweet moment for me. It is exciting for me because I know this is the last time that I have to be away from my family for my birthday. But it is also sad because it was my last birthday I will spend with these ladies. It is starting to sink that Maggie is moving 12 hours away in just a couple of weeks.

Sunday and Monday so far the whole day has been spent with my business organization books. Hopefully by Thursday I will understand it. Today my focus is devoted to Employment Discrimination. That final is tomorrow. One week til it is all over!

Time to get back to the books!