brian and jess.

Last night I had the distinct priviledge of hanging out with these two :) Steve had to work late, so Brian invited me to have dinner with them at Panera! They are so sweet. We had a great time laughing, talking and going over wedding details :) Then we went on a field trip to Garden Ridge where we got to watch Brian take a running leap onto a big center display of throw pillows! No joke...it was hilarious. But, needless to say, Jess and I just kept on walking hehe. Leave it to Brian to make an ordinary trip to Garden Ridge a memorable experience. For those who may not know, Brian is Steve's brother and Jess is his fiancee!

I am very thankful for the friends I have in these two. Brian, it has been great to have a brother to joke with and laugh at over the last year :) Thanks for all your encouragement during school and always calling me during the day to see how my long days were going. You are so thoughtful and I really appreciate you and all your crazy ways :p Thanks for being willing to put in lots of hours working on our house, even when you'd rather be hangin with your girl. We are so thankful for all your help! We are so excited about you marrying Jess! What a great wife she will be. You are very blessed bro!

Jess, I have LOVED getting to know you more and more over the past few months! When you and Brian started hanging out more and we began to suspect that you guys weren't going to remain 'just friends', I was so excited at the thought of having you as a sister. Your life is such a testimony of the Lord's faithfulness! I love your thoughtful and caring heart. You are always encouraging in the way you speak - whether to Brian or to me and Steve or whoever - the love of Christ is shown through your words and actions. I love to see the ways you serve Brian. You are going to be a great wife to him and I'm excited to watch the ways you guys will grow together as a married couple. What an exciting time of life you are in!

Love you both a whole stinkin lot :D
From your seeester and 'angel-in-law,' abbey.

GRADUATION!

Well I've officially graduated from college!! Saturday's ceremony was great...looong..but fun. There were a few surreal moments when I wasn't quite sure if this was really my graduation that I was sitting through haha. My family was all there - Steve, Mom, Dad, Rachael, Rebekah, Brian, Brian Crabb and Jess. I really appreciated their support and encouragement! They were troopers for sitting through that THREE hour ceremony. Geesh. After about the nine hundredth person walked across the stage I thought I would go crazy. But all in all it was a great day of celebration. I was able to find a couple of friends from previous classes during our sign in process, so I was able to sit with them through the whole thing. Steve took a bunch of pictures, so here are some of them.

before everything began...

the stage

there I am finally coming in! I was near the back.

I had a good view of my fam in the audience.

this is me on stage getting my certificate. they couldn't zoom in enough, so he took a picture of the screen :)

me and my love..he's been such a huge encouragement!

my parents have also been great supporters and encouragers :)

bro and soon-to-be sis in law

me in front of the Convocation Center

me in front of BAL..where almost all of my classes were. I've spent countless hours in that building..but no more!!

can you tell we're excited?!?!?!?!


Afterwards we all went over to my parents and had pizza and hung out for the evening! That was so fun! Thanks Mom and Dad for your generosity and being such AWESOME parents! I'm very thankful for you both.

And a big thank you to my sweet boy for all that he's done to support me through this last year as I balanced a full school load while learning how to serve him as his wife and take care of our home! You are the most amazing, loving and patient man...I love you more than you know.

I'm Done!

:) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)

I took my last exam yesterday, so I am home free!

Yippee!

beach date...

Steve and I went to the beach last night for our date, and let me just say, it was SUCH a beautiful night! We got coffee at Starbucks and there was a band playing at 31st street across from Catch 31, so we took our blanket down by the ocean and cuddled, sipped coffee, talked and listened to the music in the background. I'm so glad we decided to make the trek out there...it was so worth it! We had such a special time, especially after this past week which has been pretty stressful. It was so good to be able to talk and reconnect and encourage one another. We also had some fun with the camera :) enjoy.

the creepy silhouette of the metal detector ghost man...he was crackin' us up. he was so into it!


my baby...I love this boy.

house update...

We had a great time with Dad C. this past week. He was such a huge help with the house, and his trip down here came at the perfect time! He was able to help finish the electrical and get the majority of the plumbing all done! We are so thankful that he took the time to come down and help us with this massive project we've gotten ourselves into :) It was so great to have him here and we enjoyed getting to hang out for almost a whole week! Here are a few pictures.

the man himself

my hottie :)

Steve stripped all the paint off the door and then Brian put on the hardware, replaced one of the glass panes and sanded edges so they would fit snugly. Now we just have to paint it!




For some not-so-good news, the city inspectors came yesterday to check out the plumbing and electrical, and unfortunately they didn't pass. Apparently there are issues with some things not being exactly to "code," so they wouldn't pass them. As you can imagine Steve was pretty frustrated and discouraged by this after they worked so hard to get it all done over the weekend. He's trying to figure out who to get in there to look it all over and tell him what's wrong (the inspectors weren't too helpful) and then decide what to do from there. We would appreciate your prayers for this whole situation..it will probably set him back a while, depending on what all needs to be changed, and Steve feels overwhelmed by all that still needs to get done. We know it will all get done eventually, but we need grace for the process and wisdom to know what the best thing to do is now.

final exam countdown...

It's at that point when I can start a checklist of exam dates...woohoo! Here's what I have left:

1. Thursday, April 24 - World Literature Final Exam (done!)

2. Monday, April 28 - official last day of class (done!)

3. Thursday, May 1 - turn in Shakespeare take-home exam

4. Friday, May 2 - turn in Women Writers take-home exam

5. Monday, May 5 - Civil War History Exam, Media Law and Ethics Exam

6. Wednesday, May 7 - Middle East History Exam

Saturday, May 10, 2008...GRADUATION!

I covet your prayers for the remainder of the semester. The Lord has been so faithful, and I know he will see me through the next week and a half, but I will definately be needing his grace and strength!

pictures, as promised...

The weekend's already over...why is it they always go by so fast?? We had a great date Friday night at Carrabbas! We also went by the house and took a video of the way it looks now - before the drywall goes up - even though that's still a little ways off. Then we watched a movie at home. It was so much fun hangin with my boy, as always :)

Saturday was a long day of work for Steve, Steve Schwartz and Brian! They made some good progress though!

Steve-o running wires up in the attic

some of their handiwork

They ran strapping across the rafters to make sure the drywall would go on all even...that's what I understood it was for anyway?

Brian's a lil distracted..probably talkin to his girl :)

Chris L.'s handiwork...he ran all our internet, cable, phone lines! Thanks Chris!

The backyard hasn't been mowed for a while...today it was covered in these little flowers! So cute!

Church was so good (when isn't it?)! Keith continued our series in Matthew with chapter 6, verses 19-24 on laying up treasures in Heaven! It was excellent. It's amazing that no matter how many times we hear teaching on a familiar passage like that, the Spirit never ceases to convict and reveal areas where application is needed. Praise the Lord for his sanctifying grace! After church we got Chinese, went to the house to wrap up a few things, and then went to the Coolong's for Brian and Jess's party. It was so fun! We ate lots of food and enjoyed some great fellowship out on their deck that overlooks the lake. Brain built a fire that we sat around and roasted some marshmallows. And what a beautiful night for it! It was clear and cool, but not too cool...just perfect around the fire. Thanks to the Coolongs for hosting a great party! We love you Brian and Jess...Happy Birthdays :)

awww..they're too cute. Jonathan made them matching tshirts :)

Annie Johns made them a beautiful and of course delicious cake! blowing out the candles...

This one cracks me up!
My parents :) aren't they cute? love you guys!
they both look kinda zoned out...guess it was nap time!