Rambling Thoughts

We have been in CA almost a week! I have to say the shopping here is FABULOUS. They have everything and more. But we are totally sick of shopping. I never thought I would get tired of shopping but I am. I can't wait until we have everything and we can just sit on the couch and relax at the end of a day. We did get a tv and computer. So we pretty much live on the floor and our backs, knees, necks, and feet are killing us. We ordered a bed and that gets here on Saturday, and our couch comes a week from tomorrow. Yay! Oh we also got a washer and dryer. They are so amazing! When they are done washing/drying each one sings a little song to let you know it is done. Downside - the washer and dryer are in the garage and there is a gigantic black widow living in the corner just waiting to ambush me. We plan on getting some spider spray asap...especially since she is guarding an eggsack. YIKES.
We went out for ice cream after church tonight. We decided to sit out by the fountain in front of the store and eat our ice cream. We lasted less than 5 minutes. We were freeeezing! I am not used to how cold it gets at night here. But the daytime is just amazing. The weather really is perfect.
I will post some pictures when we get some furniture. Right now all I have pictures of is an empty house!
I did get an email from the law school today. Somehow they found out about the fire and have ordered me a new diploma! Even more amazing is that the school is paying to have it custom framed for me. I have just been so amazed at how generous people have been. We have really experienced the depth of God's love through his children. More to come soon!

Moving: Part Two "My Life with a Yeti"

Yeti - Bigfoot - Sasquatch - Abominable Snowman. These are all names used to describe a giant, mysterious, half-human animal known to strike fear into the hearts of young and old alike. Some are in awe of him. Some love him. Some hate him. But all acknowledge that his mere existence is the stuff of legends.

You may have wondered in the past what it is like to be trapped with a Yeti - to traverse one half of the United States with a Yeti in your car. Today is your lucky day. After traveling all over Texas and then out west with this dog, I can honestly say I think I know what it would be like:

Stage One: Curiosity

Stage Two: Sleep

Stage Three: Itching

Stage Four: Boredom

Stage Five: Feeling Snuggly

Stage Six: Feeling more Snuggly

Stage Seven: Can't get enough Snuggling

Stage Eight: "I'll just come up here with you guys"

Moving: Part One "Burn Baby Burn"

Well, what a crazy week this has been. For the remote few of you who do not know, on Monday we received a call from the moving company who was moving our household goods across the country. They informed us that the truck carrying our things had caught fire and burned to the ground. We lost EVERYTHING! In the blink of an eye three years of our life together was gone. Fortunately, God is so amazing and has provided for us beyond anything we could have imagined. Friends, family and churches have reached out to help us. The shipment was insured so hopefully we can work everything out with the company to get us enough money to get started again. We are sad to lose all the sentimental items we held so dear, but we have truly learned that our treasures are in Heaven alone.

Mike put it great when he said, "I feel like I have been drawing on an etch-a-sketch and someone just came by and bumped my elbow!" Ha ha ha. Great analogy. My dad wisely said,"Sometimes God lets us drown for a little while just to show us how great He is at rescuing." Well said dad!

On a lighter note, we have begun our first leg of the journey to San Diego!!!!! We just arrived in El Paso Tx. Yes that's right. El Paso is exactly half way to San Diego...we haven't even left the state yet! It was a great drive. Ok I'm lying. It was terribly long and boring. But we had some fun times along the way. Mike and Jake are the best company a girl could ask for. Here are some pictures earlier today. Enjoy!

We stopped at ACU to pay homage...and so Mike could see the new Jacob's Ladder sculpture.

Pretty flowers at Jacob's Ladder. I almost lapsed into the first verse of "O Dear Christian College"Somewhere in the middle of nowhere...I had no idea west Texas was so underpopulated.Exhibiting some mad picture taking skills. Check out the mountain in the side view mirror!
Jake and I screamed when we realized the halfway point was El Paso. Seriously, can we please just make it out of Texas already!!??

Update!

Well,

I thought it would never come! Mike is finally home and I am finally finished taking the Bar Exam. I have been waiting for this for a whole year!! It has been a busy but GREAT weekend/week so far. I must admit, doing just about anything is loads better than studying for the Bar. And having Mike here makes everything fun :)

Mike flew into Dallas on last Wednesday night. I was staying at a hotel next to the testing center for the bar (which was last tuesday wednesday and thursday). My family met Mike at the airport with signs and everything! Mike picked me up on Thursday after I finished the exam and we headed off to a night at the Gaylord Texan.

Our room was AMAZING! We got the government discount (yay military!) and that included a free upgrade. We ended up with a delux suite on the 9th floor. It was so much fun. We went to dinner at the same restaurant we ate at the day we were married. It brought back great memories. The next morning we had room service and the food was delicious! Mike had flowers delivered to the room with a card he had written. He is so thoughtful.

Ever since then we have just been preparing to move! The movers are coming to pack us on Thursday and may end up loading everything on the moving van the same day. We will be heading down to Huntsville to visit Mike's family and coming back through Waco to visit my parents. Then we will load up the car and begin the long journey to the West Coast. There will be blogging and pictures along the way if there is wifi!!

Here are some pictures from the Gaylord. They may be a bit blurry. The only camera we had was Mike's - and the pictures are a little cloudy due to the many sandstorms it lived through. Now that Mike is home I can post some pics of his time in Iraq. I will get to those once we get settled in Cali.

Here is the view from our room
This was the "living room" area
This was the other "living room" area!
The HUGE comfy bed!