Wow...I am really BAD at blogging!

Tim and I would like to cordially apologize to anyone who checks our blog on a regular basis for updates on our lives, because - MAN! Are we awful at this!

Seriously, though, we will try to make a conscious effort to get better at blogging so that all of you can keep updated on our lives, even if you don't always get pictures attached.

Not much new on the house - we are still trying to decide where to hang pictures and artwork. Eventually we WILL hang something on the walls, though. We are still loving our neighborhood and our home; we definitely made the right choice for us.

My job is going really well, I'm finally getting busier and I'm actually going to have my first OB patient to induce tomorrow! It will be nice to get back to the business of delivering babies, although having a largely GYN practice is nice too. Patients in the office are finally starting to pick up, although still not as busy as I will eventually be. Time will make it so...

Tim has applied for so many jobs we've lost count. He has had many interviews, but unfortuately with the downturn in the economy, many of those jobs have been "eliminated" or simply decided not to be filled. But he continues to be hopeful that something will come along that he will be perfect for, and everything will fall into place. Until then, he's been a great help in keeping my life in order and keeping me grounded.

We spend most evenings curled up in front of some sort of sporting event on TV (Sunday afternoons have been great football time for us), and occasionally spend an evening out on the town. We've found a great new church that we make it to most Sundays (except when "on call" gets in the way), and we've made several friends in our neighborhood as well. We even made it to a couple of Texas Tech Alumni Association events - who knew there would be so many Red Raiders in Vegas?

We've had quite a few visitors since our last post also. We really enjoyed getting to spend some time at Thanksgiving with Brian, Ellie, Sadie, and Zeke, and have enjoyed several friends as well since then. I went to Reno in December for a quick visit with Mom, Dad, Granddad, and Aunt Ruby, which was really nice since I knew I wouldn't make it back to Texas at Christmas. Aunt BB and Uncle Mike came up when Teryl was in Arizona for the Fiesta (?) Bowl, and we got to spend a little time with them as well. Tim got to spend a little time with friends who were in town last week, and we're gearing up for my 30th birthday this Saturday, with six friends coming to the house to stay and enjoy some time together. We'll definitely have pictures from that up soon!

Stay tuned for (we promise) more regular posting and photos!

Long overdue...

We have promised over and over that we would update our blog with new pictures of our home now that we're settled (well, somewhat settled), so... drumroll... the long-awaited next post!

Our home is really taking shape, and we have enjoyed personalizing it to make it feel like our own. We love our big open downstairs, with the family room just off the kitchen,the formal living room with its tall dramatic ceiling, and of course, our downstairs guest room. We've already had a few guests (more about our activities since the move in our next post) and can't wait to have others as you are able to come visit.

Our upstairs is Tim's favorite place, because it has his "man-cave", complete with big TV and X-Box (his birthday gift).

The guest bedroom upstairs makes it easy to have more than one guest at a time, although that hasn't happened yet :).

Our master bedroom and bathroom (the blue rooms) are Staci's retreat, with the comfortable bed that makes it a little hard to get up in the morning, and the great big tub for soaking.

The parts of the house that we both LOVE are the backyard and the balcony off the master bedroom, because the weather in the morning and the evening is perfect for sitting outside and relaxing. Plus, you just can't beat the view - the landscaping and care that goes in to the golf course here is fantastic, and keeps us from having to maintain a yard, although we are planning on doing a little planting in the front and back come spring.

The kitties have settled in well, with several kitty beds throughout the house just for them. They have each found a favorite spot - Tigger under the desk in the loft, Winifred on the bench outside the master bedroom, and Cricket in her cat bed in the master bedroom. They love going outside on the balcony, too - no backyard, though, once we found out the hard way Tigger could fit through the fence.

All in all, we've really made this our home, and are so excited for you to come and see it. Please give us a call if you would like to come and visit - we would love to have you!

We're finally homeowners!

We found out a couple of hours ago that the title was recorded on our new house, and will be moving in tonight! It was a long struggle to get closed, including changing lenders and living in a La Quinta for ten days, but we will be staying in the new house tonight, and can't wait to get officially moved in. Once we get the computer hooked up, you will see new pictures of our trip here as well as the house, and we can't wait for our first visitors!

On the road...

We are on our way to Las Vegas, and after 1700 miles so far, it feels like we're never going to get there. The movers came and packed up the truck on Monday, and headed for Las Vegas with everything except a few suitcases, the cats, and the flamingo that the Lincoln Park Youth Group dropped off for us as a going-away gift. I sold my CRV (just under the wire) on Monday morning, and we left Reading on Tuesday morning.

We spent our first night in South Bend, Indiana, and had a great time getting to see Notre Dame the next morning. We drove to Des Moines, Iowa on Wednesday, and made a few stops along the way that day. One of the stops we made was at the Middle East Memorial in Marseilles, Illinois, and we were truly moved by the display of the lives lost. We stopped at every state border along the way for a quick photo - a little dangerous in Illinois on the side of the highway with almost no shoulder - but we had a lot of fun doing it.

We drove through Nebraska(lots of corn, and a VERY long state) into Denver last night, and are going to make a short stop in Dillon, Colorado today to see some family friends, and then we'll spend tonight in Utah. We should be in Las Vegas on Saturday afternoon at some point, and after we close on our house, we'll make our next post. Photos will be coming to this post soon, too.

63 Tall Ruff Drive Pictures

Attached are photos of our NEW HOUSE!!! We are so excited - it came in just under the wire today, July 7th, since we move on July 15th, but we will have our OWN HOUSE in Las Vegas!!
Let us know what you think, give us comments, and let us know when you're coming out!