Rubber ducky you're the one...

I played stay at home aunt today and took care of Gabby while Sarah and David worked. I am always amazed at how this little person can affect me so much. They way she learns and laughs and hugs and kisses.

I gave her a bath about an hour ago and I learned a very important lesson. Toddlers are ninjas. She used moves I have never seen before to thwart all my soapy advances. It was like the Matrix but with sleepy time bath gel and baby shampoo.

cold tangerines

"The problem is that the worldview i have chosen has melted like butter. I had a plan, and the plan is gone. I did it right, in my own made-up system, and it all came our wrong. All my logic and contingencies and smoke alarms and insurance didn't see this coming, and now my life has changed. I'm off the plan. And I loved the plan. I believed in the plan, secretly, way more devoutly than I believed in the mysterious work of God." - shauna niequist

every once and a while you read something that hits a part of your life really closely. i realized today that even though the last month or so hasn't gone the way i thought it would, i have been using times that didn't go along with my schedule as a reason to be mad or upset or plain mean. God doesn't give us a plan. he doesn't even come close to letting us know what around the corner. but he does give us family, friends and complete strangers to help us go on his path. we have to trust that his reasons are better than ours and that his plans are greater than ours, because i have to believe that i am praising a creator who is in charge of it all. I'm not able to control my surroundings, but i can control how i react - both today and tomorrow.

Chotch

While trying to get Gabby to say "Uncle Charlie", we discovered that the closest she can get is Chotch. Well done Gabby...I have a feeling that one is going to stick.

Brown Team

There are many moments that change a persons life. A first kiss, getting married or having a child...

Well none of that compares to what is happening tonight. It is the Biggest Loser Live Finale! Three hours of MIND BLOWING tv excellence!

Here are some of the things I am hoping for tonight -

1. Mikey wins the prize and Kristin wins the at home challenge!
2. I hope that Allison Sweeny has at least 10 akward moments. I am pretty sure that this will happen in the first 30 minutes considering what happened last year...
3. Mikey's brother has lost at least 15 pounds (based on the subway diet bob showed him)
4. There is some major pimping of products - i.e. ziplock bags, 5 calorie extra gum, nalgenes, brita, fiber one bars.....
5. Jillian learns how to say Tara's name
6. Helen crys at least 10 times and stresses out about something
7. Aubrey will have had more kids
8. Daniel will have lost tons of weight and David will most likely have not lost any
9. Ron will have 4 boobs instead of 6
10. Joelle will have worked to her fullest potential and lost 8 pounds. We will need a translator to understand her tonight...
11. Sione and Filepe will announce their man love for Bob

I cant wait!

Sunshine on my Shoulders...

Here we go! Charlie and I decided to start a blog to keep everyone up to date now that we are officially in a different time zone (and I'm awful at answering the phone). I'm not sure how great ill be about keeping this up, but lets think positive and pretend ill be great at it :)

We got to Denver on May 1st and have been settling in. The drive was really long and I had so much caffeine that i could have put my feet through the floor board of my car and run all the way to Denver. Thankfully I didn't. Red Bull for sure gave me the push i needed (or the lead foot) to get through all 13 hours. We are staying with my sister Sarah and her husband in Highlands Ranch until our house in Dallas sells or they are sick of us and kick us out. Lets hope it the former :) They have been great hosts and we love the time we get to share.

Its easy to let my mind wander about finding a job or selling our house in Dallas, but we feel so blessed to be where we are that those thoughts are usually secondary. You can only control so much, so we are taking it a day at a time. Charlie is studying for his tests to sell insurance and I have actually been studying to be a personal trainer. My goal is to be Gillian or Bob (from the Biggest Loser) and just yell/sit on people for a living. I am pretty sure I will be making millions doing it and they will want me to be on the Biggest Loser (hey a girl can dream....).

I have been making decent use of my time going on interviews. I haven't heard back on any of them, but its been encouraging that they want me to come back for a second interview. Its not the ideal job market, but I'm confident that I will find something. We are also keeping busy along with seeing everything that Denver has to offer. Its a great city!

Thanks to all for the thoughts and prayers so far - we are so thankful for them and we really feel them.