Two years just so happens to be the blink of an eye!

Let the wife make the husband glad to come home, and let him make her sorry to see him leave.

-Martin Luther

I have seen this quote in the home of a family that we visit often, and I just love it. It is something that Chris and I have been working on....to love, to serve, and to just be a joy to one another.

Last weekend (on Sunday) was our two year anniversary! Two years doesn't seem all that long to me anymore considering how long we have known each other.  The time just keeps going and going.

Friday night we went to McAlister's to catch up with some friends after work and school.  We ate out on the patio and just had a nice little time.  Then us girls headed to Target and Old Navy to see what trouble we could find. Before we knew it, we had been gone for 2 hours. Ooops. :)

Saturday evening Chris and I went to see Kendal Grace for the second time since her birth last Wednesday. She is just the sweetest little thing and I could not get enough of her! :) While we were there Lindsey's mother brought over a pot roast with carrots and potatoes! After saying no a least 3 times, Justin and Lindsey finally begged us to grab a bite.  I went in the kitchen and she had made SO MUCH! There were several of us visting and we were all able to eat.  What great people they have in their lives!  Lindsey and Justin had meals prepared and brought over by her mom, Saturday, his mom, Sunday, and then my friend, Sara on Monday!  And I am sure it won't stop there! What a huge blessing for them to spend time with their new little one instead of cooking or cleaning.  And Lindsey's good friend, Jackie, was by her side at the hospital and at the house rocking Kendal when we got there.  Jackie was comfy in her sweats and not going anywhere! :) So sweet.

She was showing off her lungs at the hospital! :)

Getting a little action. Tiny little thing, Chris was too afraid to break her!

Aaron wasn't though! :)

We had a great time catching up with Aaron.  We went to school with him growing up and he lives out of state now! Made the drive just to see Kendal! ;) Well, and maybe a few others while he was here.

And on Sunday we decided to have a small celebration for our anniversary.  I had been wanting to go to Copeland's since we had gone there shortly after getting married.  So we got up, went to church and then headed that way!

It is our little tradition to wear black and white on our anniversary each year. (And I'm hoping to keep Mickey's cake a part of the tradition as well, so we'll see!)

Wedding Day

Obviously sporting our black and white! :)

The yummy cake

Year One

The night before going on our cruise we ate our cake topper from the wedding and it was PHENOMENAL! :)

We forgot to take the saran wrap off before it thawed, but hey....it was still good! :)

Chris' whole family thought so! My mom did a great job preserving it for us!

Year Two

And more yummy cake! :)

And punch!

It was a great day. It rained and rained and rained! Sometimes I just love being stuck at home with my hubby! Especially on Spring Break. I love you, Christopher! Looking forward to another great year, and many more to come!

God, You reign!

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose." - Romans 8:28

First and foremost, today is my dad's birthday! I called him before bed last night since they are 7 hours ahead of us in Germany and it was actually his birthday there!  He works the night shift and he said that I caught him right as he was walking in the door! I was so thankful! I made sure I grabbed Chris' phone to call him because I figured Houndstooth would not like a call made to Germany on their company phone! Phew.....glad I remembered before dialing.  It was so good to talk to him!  I updated him on the latest and when I told him about our new kitten, Piper, he said, "I know, I've seen her on your blog!"  Haha! That just made my day! I knew I updated my blog for a reason! :)

Love my daddy!

Such a special day!

Happy Birthday, Dad! I love and miss you!!!

Had a great breakfast and visit with my best friend, Annabelle! She came in for a quick visit and it was so good to catch up with her! She has got a new little life set up in Kansas City, but part of her heart is still here in Little Rock of course.  I am so excited for her and Tim because I know God has worked everything out down to the last detail.  She is only a text, call, or a 7 hour drive away! And so are we! It was so great to see you and I'm pretty sure that it just provided a fix for just a little while....but that is okay!  I will take what I can get! See you soon. Love you, friend!

This morning I got up around 7 because I had plans to go work out with Chelsea.  It felt kind of nice to be up before I had to be. (Minus the little voice in my head that kept telling me to cancel all plans and get back in bed....I've learned so much already in my new bible study, and I was pretty sure this was NOT the Holy Spirit) Ha!  I turned on a morning show, saw Chris out the door for his test, and waited for Chelsea to come get me. We went over to the med center and walked 2 miles.  It felt really good! I felt a tad bit rushed because I always stress out when I have 2 things to do really close together...such as workout and then work!   But I was back home a little after 9, in the shower, and headed out the door at 10 for work! Glad to know that I really can get all that accomplished before I go to work in the morning (Thanks, Chels).  You know.....in case I ever did decide to work out again! ;) Anyone that knows me well, knows that this does not come easy.  I just don't like to go!  I feel good after, but just genuinely do not like to work out and have a tough time getting there.

I have been pretty productive lately.  Got my closet(s) all cleaned out and have about 5 bags to take to Goodwill.  Now we just need to clean out Chris' stuff and we will be all set to make a delivery.  I have all of my Houndstooth t-shirts in one closet, have completely removed all of my stuff from Chris' closet, and then I have one other closet all to myself.  And there is now plenty of room for more! I will get on that...pronto! :)

Not always a fun process.

But the end result is pretty great!

Poor Chris has been studying and preparing for yet another test. Only a few left (of this sort) to go! He had a little mishap where his computer froze up while he was trying to print something and he had to power it off.  Days later he realized that his computer did not save his study guide in it's entirety that he had been working on for HOURS.  What a bummer! We knew that God was in control and he was not and that everything would work out the way it was supposed to, even if it didn't play out exactly how we thought it should.

Even Piper can tell that this is some serious stuff! :)

Chris was not feeling well this morning before the test so I forced him to take some Pepto which ended up really not helping matters! But he made it through and ended up doing well on the test! We were both so happy and relieved!  Only 3 more weeks of actual CLASS! Hallelujah! God is so good for getting us through this madness we call medical school! I cannot imagine trying to cram as much information into their brains as these guys/gals do day after day, but I guess that it why they applied and were accepted and not me! I'm not supposed to understand it.  I'm just trying to be the best cheerleader I can possibly be!

We went to Canon Grill and enjoyed a nice little cozy dinner to celebrate! Can you see the relief in his face and the happiness in mine?

I am super proud and can't wait to see what is left in store for our last 2 years in Little Rock (for several years anyways).  Ready for him to get in the hospitals to see if he will specialize and if so, what it will be in!

And of course I can't have a blog update without our 2 little babies! Alex has been a little less than perturbed lately with Piper! She just wont leave his tail alone! So the last 4-5 mornings, I can't remember how many excatly, Alex has been found here when I woke up in the morning.

Yep, in the bathroom sink.  We have even pulled dried up toothpaste from the hair on his belly (that would have to be from Chris) that must've been in the sink when he jumped in.  He does not care......she can't reach his tail up here.....so there! Take that you little playful kitten!

But.....they do go to sleep at some point and I am always right there with my camera to catch the moments.  The pictures never lie. ;)

They truly are happy to have one another!

I am getting very excited because our 2 year anniversary is on Sunday.  No big plans, no gifts, just a nice dinner.  And Chris doesn't know it yet (nor does he read my blog unless asked to), but I have already ordered a small cake from Mickey's to celebrate!  We had their cake on our wedding day, their cake on our one year anniversary (straight from the freezer), and by golly, we are going to have it on our 2 year anniversary, too! I haven't decided what will happen once we move, but it may have something to do with frozen cake in the mail, or a good 'ole trip down to Arkansas for a visit.  :)  And yes, for those of you that have never had a cake from Mickey's, it's THAT good! :)

Spring break is upon us.  And I'm not a student or even a teacher anymore. But guess what........ He makes all things work together for our good.

I could not be more blessed. I even get to have a spring break with my hubby.  SO looking forward to it.

Pad Thai at it's finest...

Alright.....several of you asked for it.  I only claimed to be "making" pad thai, not to be Betty Crocker;)  But here is the "recipe" for those who asked!

These are two things you MUST have. :) 

(Not really on the hot sauce, but it IS good!)

In the oriental section at your grocery store you will find this Thai Kitchen brand for Pad Thai. (The recipe is listed on the back of the box, but I will tell you what we do and don't do.)

Also, this Sriracha hot sauce should be pretty easy to locate as well.

The recipe calls for:

3 Tbsp. vegetable oil

1 egg

4 oz. cut chicken, shrimp, vegetables or tofu

1/2 cup fresh bean sprouts

1/4 cup of crushed peanuts

Optional: lime wedges, fresh chilies, and cilantro

The back of the box has the rest of the cooking instructions, I just mainly wanted to post what kind we use so you would know what to get.

We use chicken, and we also cut up about half of a red pepper to add in it. We do not use the whole bag of "sauce" that comes with the noodles..  We use about half of it and add soy sauce and the sriracha sauce (don't go crazy, it can get really spicy) to taste. Any of the ingredients that you don't like you can omit.  We don't do the peanuts or the bean sprouts and it is still REALLY good!

I hope you enjoy!

That's it.  Go out and buy it! The only thing that comes in the box are the noodles you need and and the sauce

"What are you busy at?"

The essential question is not, "How busy are you?" but "What are you busy at?" "Are you doing what fulfills you?"

- Oprah Winfrey

Not sure where the time has gone!  This will be a pretty random post because my life has been in full swing lately! :)

Finally put up my picture wall that I had been wanting to do.  I bought some wooden frames months ago with the plan to do an all wood, just different shades, picture wall.  My mom got me several of them for Christmas!

I hope to keep adding to it and moving these closer together to allow room for more!

A few Sunday's ago, Kristin, Chelsea, and I went to the New Life Women's Event called "She Awakens her World." Christine Caine came from Hillsong Church in Australia to speak to us.  It was a great night and even though we left extra early, we still sat in literally THE last row in the church! But that was kind of a nice view! Christine brought the Word and blessed each of us.  Hanna was recovering from being sick, and Sydney was drowning in work.  We missed them dearly, but soaked up some extra knowledge just for them! ;)

Here are a few pictures from the night. 

The theme was rain...so there were umbrella's everywhere when we walked in! We all got one to take home, too! :)

See! The BACCCKKKK row! :)

The view in front of us! There were some major "seat savers" in the house! We had to pass up so many empty seats! :)

Kristin tickled "pink" about her new umbrella! So she decided to open it in the backseat of my car! Ha!

We headed to Sonic afterwards for a good drink! Poor Kristin, it was already past her bedtime! She was livin' on the edge with us! :)  I had a great time, girls!

The following week it was time for Wednesday Night Dinner......Rodriguez style. Not sure if you have seen that clan that gets fed every other Wednesday, but the number is pretty up there at this point.  I decided to go with Enchilada's to make sure I could easily feed the whole crew! And by easily I mean that I only had to leave work early and be in the kitchen preparing from 3:00 to 7:00! Lol.  We had chicken and beef enchilada's, cheese dip, mexican rice, and my (and I use that term loosely) version of a four-layer-delight for dessert!

Lots going on here!! Chicken, beef, chicken with beans, and beef with beans.  Beef with beans are my all time favorite! (Especially when cooked by Chris' parents!)

Starting the process

Got my assembly line set up!

And now we are ready for the oven!

One of my FAVORITE desserts ever, compliments of Patty Meador, my sister-in-law's mother! It includes all things good! Chocolate pudding, cream cheese, sugar, powdered sugar, cool whip, and graham cracker crust! Love it!

I also attempted to make Mexico Chiquito's fruit punch! The right side is what was left after dinner, the left is my sweet tea! Lol.  Not even a taste gone! :) I'm guessing that the punch tasted okay!??

I'm thinking Kyle might have been the culprit!

14 people in our tiny house is nearly impossible! :)

But we do what we can to make it work!

Some of the fella's! Poor hubby didn't make it into any of the pictures, but I promise he was there! :)

And the ladies!

We have such a good time at our dinners! I will cherish these times forever.  Our time here is short and I can't believe 2 years has just about gone by since medical school has started.  Cheers (in my high dollar red drinking glasses ;) to another great two years!  You guys/gals really help make med school a great life experience! 

This Saturday I spent the day and night with my little buddy, Nate! He is one popular little boy! He had TWO birthday parties to attend! We hung out around his house for a few hours before heading out for the day.  We jumped on the trampoline, ate lunch, read books, and watched a couple of his favorite shows!

Having a good time on the bouncy thing they had at Jude's party!

Tuckered out after 2 birthday parties! It's time for a bath, pajama's, and bed time! :) So tired, he slept from 9:00 p.m. to 7 a.m. WITHOUT waking up once!

Trying to get a 2 1/2 year old to smile at this stage in life is nearly impossible on command! ;) But, of course, I love him all the same!

I hope things are well with you all. I will post again soon........I have started a new bible study on Thursday nights that I can tell I am going to love.  More details on that later, but speaking of studying my bible...it's time to say goodnight so that I can get to it!

Oh, and I almost forgot..my day Sunday wasn't exactly the best day I've ever come across.  But sometimes bad days and weekends can have little bright spots.  Got this in the mail this weekend after one of my favorite Target earrings of all time lost it's life last week.....

Best friends can make any day brighter! I love you, Anna!

Be Blessed