Christmas with the Bournes!

What a wonderful vacation it's been!! Trey and I got to go home and stay with my family for Christmas in The Woodlands. There were several trips back and forth to Trey's family's--we're so lucky our families live so close. We went to our annual church service at Fellowship and Steak and Ale on Christmas Eve. Then we were up at 8:00am and joined by my big sis and her fiance for the Christmas morning festivities followed by game night at the Walkers'!!

Christmas Eve!

We missed you AL and UB--but we're still enjoying the chocolate =)

Our First Christmas Together!!!

In other news.....we got our bedroom furniture!!!!!! We've waited what seems like FOREVER with clothes piled on the floor and no storage, but the wait definately makes us appreciate it even more. The pictures just don't do it justice--and not to mention that there's not a single thing on the walls yet. Also-----I'm officially a Walker!!! The wedding was official enough for me but after an hour and a half at the social security office and 3 hours at the DPS, I have a social security card and drivers license that make it official.

Christmas Parties!

The weekend was packed full of stuff, namely the Deloitte Holiday Party and the annual Secret Santa Christmas party with some of my dearest girlfriends! Here are some pictures from the fun-filled weekend! Friday was the Deloitte party and we had some of my work friends over before for snacks and wine before heading over to the over-the-top cocktail party. It was everything you'd imagine for a corporate, extravagant party--complete with performances by the Rockettes!

As for Sunday, we headed to Lauren and West's house for some "Cookie's and Cocoa" and good old catching up. I always love when the group of us get together since there are rarely any dull moments!

Waiting for the group

Me, Vanessa, Jenna, & Joey's sweet wife, Ashley

At the girls' Christmas party!

The New Asst. Project Manager!!!

Trey got his new, official title as the Assistant Project Manager of Rig Solutions this morning! He's been on a rotational program for a year and has seen several parts of NOV, but this was his favorite. Lucky for him, they liked him too (though I had no doubts) and hired him to start permanently in January with their department. I'm so proud!!!

A Walker Christmas!

It's our first Christmas and we wanted to do it right!! Trey and I finally found time amidst our traveling and busy schedules to go get a REAL tree!! The picture to envision is us driving down I-10 with a tree strapped on top of Trey's little Acura. To make me more nervous, Trey constantly asked, "Is it still there??". We made it to the house and we were so excited that we decorated all in one night, with a plate of Christmas cookies not far away (just like we always decorated at my family's house...=). I think it turned out awesome!!! Here are some pictures:

It was actually heavier than he makes it look...

Pre-decoration--the lights scared Charley so we couldn't get her in a finished picture.

Our tree is finished!

It even has presents---shhhh...they're fake. We got them from "Lights in the Heights"

Car News!!!

Update on my car--my dad called me yesterday and my car is ready for me to take home again from the accident back in October!! It's amazing how long these things can take, and I'm just lucky I haven't had to be in a rental car this long. He picked it up from the shop last week and has driven it around to make sure things are working right and apparently the car looks brand new! They registered and had it inspected while I was gone (since both expired in November...) so I don't have that hanging over my head before Christmas. In other good news, we had expected a fight with the other woman's insurance (she said the light was green, though it was clearly red...), but they called and accepted full responsibility yesterday!! And just in case your curious (since I was), the final tab that her insurance is picking up--$9,900.

Welcome to Canada and Louisiana!!

Trey will probably kill me for posting these pictures but he's just so darn cute! =) haha. He flew off to Canada this Monday and these are some pictures he's sent me so far. He said his trip has mostly been lots of snow and cold. I on the other hand headed to Ruston, Louisiana, home to really good Cajun food but otherwise a whole lot of NOTHING. haha. The days haven't been as long as I expected, and I'm really enjoying the people I work with, so I can't complain.

As annoying as technology can be, I have to admit that it's come in handy this week. Being international, Trey's phone calls to me would cost a fortune. We have instead been talking through our computers as if on the phone on G-chat. No typing, just typing through the built in microphone. It's AWESOME! And the best part is that it's FREE! =)

Life

I'm humbled by the strength of other people. I'm reminded by the things that can happen in life that we're not meant to fight on our own. God will fight our battles for us if we open ourselves up to the army He'll provide. When I was in bible study at A&M one of the girls profoundly said, "Sometimes I just feel God telling me, 'I won't calm the storm around you, but I'll calm the storm within you'." How true that is.

On a much lighter note, Trey and I are having Thanksgiving at the house tonight (thanks mom!). I fly to Corpus Christi on Friday for work and then I have an inventory Saturday back in Houston before flying next week out to Ruston, Louisiana. Trey will be heading to Canada for the majority of next week as well. If we have to travel, at least we're traveling at the same time!! =)

Thanksgiving at the Walkers'!!

So Trey had always said his family was crazy....only kidding. Thanksgiving at the Walkers' was AWESOME!!! Complete of course with the infamous Turkey Bowling of which I tied my husband and lost in the bowl off. And yes, it is exactly how it sounds....bowling except with a frozen turkey. And the food---wow, we did A LOT of eating! haha. I'm hooked on Treys' mom's homemade croissant rolls and even more so on a chocolate pie that was amazing. All in all, it was a great weekend full of lots of laughs.

A couple St Lucia Pics

I realize I have been fairly MIA recently, but when you're working until 11:00 at night there isn't much "blog" time. haha, it's not so bad though--at least there's free dinner involved...=) I'm hoping my hours will slow up at least for a little while until busy season and I'm DEFINITELY looking forward to some time off with the Walker family for Thanksgiving!

Update on my car: they think it'll be ready by the end of the month so I'm thrilled!! My dad is going to drive it for a couple weeks though, so it'll probably be at least a month before I get my hands on it again. They ended up having to replace the entire front frame of the car, but assured us it would be brand new by the time they were done with it! Plus, my hood was replaced too so looking on a brighter side, the hail dents will be gone (though I was the only person that could even notice them!).

Here's just a few of my favorite honeymoon pictures from St. Lucia:

This is what we did ALL day--at the pool!

We hiked to the top of this mountain--and got poured on. It was still one of my favorite days though!

Dinner at the Italian restaurant!

On the Catamaran tour drinking Island brewed beer--Piton!

Back to Work Woes.....

As expected, waking up early and driving into work yesterday was difficult for the both of us to say the least. The day went by extrememly slow and I just couldn't wait to get home. Unfortunately I was delivered the bad news that I'm scheduled for an inventory on New Years Eve this year. My initial thought was "New Years Eve, it's only a day, but at least I can celebrate after work". Wrong--the inventory actually starts at midnight and is all the way out in the Houston ship channel. There is a slight, slight, very slight possibility that it will start earlier if all the delivery trucks for the night come in early. I did express concern that I'd be going out to a warehouse by myself AT NIGHT, and it is going to "be looking into" so we'll see what comes of that. I was disappointed, but at least I know now rather than later!

I was able to leave around 7:00 which is nice compared to the hours others are working right right now. I'd rather come in earlier and get my 11 hours in so I can at least come home to dinner with Trey. Speaking of dinner, I came home to a YUMMY ranch/chicken soup dish (thanks Mrs. Walker!!!), sliced cheese, chips, and mashed pototes all whipped together by my husband. How lucky am I?? I'm so spoiled....

Mr. & Mrs Walker

We're finally home from the beautiful St. Lucia and definitely had mixed feeling about heading home. It was hard to leave such a view, but we were definitely anxious to get home and start building our lives together. I still can't believe that we're finally married! The wedding turned out more beautiful than I could have ever imagined. The day was a whirlwind but I've never had so much fun!

Here are a few pictures our very talented photographer (Leslie Witte) sent us as a tease before she got all the photos up....enjoy

Before the ceremony (I wasn't nervous yet!)

This is right before my sisters and I walked down the isle. I didn't find out until the rehearsal that I would be able to watch the entire thing on the tv just outside the sanctuary. It was amazing.

Mr. and & Mrs. Walker. Blessed, I am....

0 DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's here and I CAN'T believe it!!! The rehearsal dinner last night was AMAZING, and I don't think we could thank Trey's parents enough for the wonderful night it turned out to be. As you could understand, today's a busy day! I'll add pictures when we get back from St. Lucia!!

3 Days!

I still can't believe that it's Wednesday and I'll be married Saturday--only 3 whole days from now! It's been a crazy ride and I'm very ready for the weekend to happen and for my life to get back to normalcy with my new husband and roommate.

Just wanted to say a special thanks to my aunt for being a New Yorker and getting my programs punched in a day even though the turnover was supposed to be two days. Also thank you to my mom and grandma for driving all over the woodlands yesterday looking for the perfect ribbon and for tying them all for what I'm assuming will take most of the afternoon today. =) The little things you do certainly don't go unnoticed and I'm very appreciative.

I'll leave you one thing that I've been taught by my parents for many many years and was so rightly reminded by a good friend today in an attempt to keep me sane: Don't sweat the small stuff...it's only small stuff. If anything, that's been the biggest lesson when it's come to all the wedding plans-anyone who's planned a wedding will likely agree.

This may be my last time to write before the big day, though I may change my mind if I need to "de-stress" again before Saturday. If not, I love you all so much and can't wait to see everyone then!!!!!

The Lord will give strength to His people; the Lord will bless His people with peace. Psalm 29:11

5 Days!!

Trey is done and now I told him he can stop stressing about his big presentation and start stressing about the wedding with me. =) He said it went really well and was only disappointed that some of the people he was expecting didn't show up for the presentation. That only shows how opposite we are in that department--I on the other hand would have been thrilled that not as many people showed. haha

I started a new client today (Genesis) so I'm back downtown and really not as busy as expected (hence the blogging while at work). I imagine things will get busier as the week progresses, but at least I'm taking off Thursday and Friday!!! I may not be busy, but I'm still in desperate need of a vacation--St. Lucia here we come! =)

6 Days!

Trey and I celebrated out last Saturday as singles this weekend! It was definitely a crazy weekend but I feel like my luck is beginning to change. We finalized the cake and the florist, and we were also able to find a bunch of odds and ends that seemed impossible in the past. Trey in the meantime is preparing for his final National Oilwell Varco presentation as a Next Gen, the rotation program he's been on for the last year with his company. He found out a couple months ago that all of the presentations were scheduled on our honeymoon, and they were gracious enough to allow him to do his early. I know he's probably nervous to get up in front of all the big-wigs of the company, but he's such a great public speaker that I know it won't be a problem.

I on the other hand spent most of the afternoon making ceremony programs. It's a great way to save a little change, but what a headache!! Hopefully the formatting will be finalized today and I can take it to the printer! I can't wait for next weekend!!!!!!

13 Days and a wreck...just what I need right now...

Yes, you read the title right. On my way to work on Friday morning I got into a pretty rough car accident--literally almost two weeks before the best day of my life. What else could go wrong right? I thank the Lord constantly that I was not seriously injured. Two of the people in the vehicle that caused the accident were taken to the hospital. They appeared conscience at the time and I believe were just going for pain from airbag deployment. Another miracle, my airbag didn't deploy, and based on the impact most have been shocked that it didn't otherwise I probably would have had a bruised face on the day of my wedding.

Above is the woman that caused the accident. She ran a red light coming off the 610 freeway that the truck below and I were passing through on a green light in the opposite direction. Her initial impact was hitting the side of the truck below, at which time I hit her back end, popped her tire and sent her off the side of the road. They had a full family on board at the time, including a baby that couldn't have been older than a year.



This is the truck that was hit first--notice the sheer size of both of these vehicles involved. My car definitely held it's own at half the size. This car was hit but with steel beams where the impact was made, sustained little damage. When hit, she spun and faced the opposite direction of traffic.

My car, Cindy, did do a little damage. You can't tell that well in the picture, but this is the back wheel that I hit. Her tire popped and the rubber was halfway off the metal part. And drumroll..............................................................

Here's my poor car after they had pulled it out of the intersection. All the cars were towed off the scene but mine was the only one in the middle of the road until police and ambulances arrived 30 minutes later--tow trucks made it in 5 minutes. The most shocking part was that not a soul stopped to see if we were ok. I had a couple honks and other than that, people just drove around me--I guess more anxious to get to work. Honestly though, I will never again look at an accident in the same way. I was definitely shaken up and still am about driving to work on Monday. Other than that, I am SO blessed that all I sustained was a rough headache and an aching body.

18 Days!!

Can you believe we're now less than 20 days!!?!?!? I'm at the point now where I've come to the realization that some of the littlest details just aren't going to get worked out, and I'm ok with that. There's just not enough time in the day and at the end of the day, we'll still be Ms. and Mrs. Walker!

We've come to several bumps in the road with the church, though I'm hoping we've gotten them worked out. Our wedding coordinator left the church taking all her notes/paperwork and leaving our new one with nothing. Our new lady is the sweetest thing, but we were definitely flustered that we had to start all over if you can imagine!!

I went to Old Town Spring this weekend and at the counter checking out in a store, we noticed a flier for an event being held at the church we're getting married at--like a fall arts and crafts show. I thought it was cute and talked to the lady at the register about the wedding being there, etc, etc. After showing my mom, we realized the festival was an all day affair being held on November 3rd!!! What else can go wrong?? haha. We've spoken to our coordinator and she assured us there wouldn't be a problem. Just another bump in the road but we're still moving! =)

22 Days-Jenny's Engaged

Congrats to my big sis Jennifer who got engaged to her boyfriend Jeremy last night! I didn't have my camera but if I get pics forwarded to me I'll post them later.

27 Days-Couple's Shower!

Our couple's shower was this weekend and it turned out to be SO MUCH FUN-not that we'd expect anything less! Los Cucos was catered which was really fun since we all have so much history with that place. So many great family and friends turned out and we got some really cool gifts that we're excited to move into our new place very soon! Here are some pictures from the night:

Los Cucos!!

The beautiful cake

With my parents

The Walkers and Soon to be Walker...=)

Great friends!

We really got these as a gift and you'll never guess who from...

All the hosts and Walkers

29 Days!!

Another Friday closer to the wedding!! I'm really excited to finally have to "Trey and Catherine" time tonight. Trey surprised me and made reservations for our favorite Houston restaurant, Michelangelo's! If you'll remember, this is the place that I was supposed to be surprising Trey the night we got engaged. It's been several years since we've been back but I'm really looking forward to a romantic night with just the two of us--with all the craziness, it's been awhile....

Our latest project has been building furniture! So far we've become masters--we spent a night racing each other on the kitchen table chairs (I won!), built the coffee table, and finished up the media console. We have a cabinet and an end table to go...=)

It's Official: ONE MONTH TO GO!!!!

I can't believe there's only a month left before I become Catherine Walker and get to to share my life with Trey! I was touched this morning by a Big Daddy Weave song as I drove in to work. It's amazing where my respites come from these days, but I must admit that I do enjoy the long drive into Houston (traffic and all!). Here's the beginning of the lyrics:

I am sure all of heaven’s heard me cry
As I tell You all the reasons why
This life is just too hard
But day by day
Without fail
I’m finding everything I need
And everything that You are
To me

Trey will tell you that there's been plenty of tears within the last 12 months--between starting a new job, trying to pass the CPA and all the while planning a wedding, there have been many a times that I felt I was well beyond my limits. I continue to pray that God sustains me and is glorified in this entire process, and that Trey and I remain focused on the true meaning of what marriage represents.

34 Days!!

I'm sure several of you have been dying for an update since Saturday and yes, I survived my bachelorette party AND still want to get married. =) Kimberly, Mandy, Jaclyn, and my dearest madre worked really hard to make it a night to remember-and it certainly was just that. I'm especially grateful that so many of you girls were able to drive in for it, though Abbey and Missy you were missed =(.

We had drinks at Berryhill and dinner at Grotto's before walking back to The Woodlands Waterway Marriott where there were rooms for us. The rooms were decorated all over with vases of pink roses, candles, banners, boas, etc. SO CUTE! We played quite an interesting game where I discovered that Trey has a terrible memory-just kidding. Jaclyn interviewed him on camera ahead of time of a list of questions and I had to come up with the answers. Examples were: "When did you first start liking Catherine?", "When was your all time favorite date?", "When was your most embarrassing moment in front of one another", etc etc. Though I disagreed with him on several of his answers, he just looked so darn cute on camera! =) The rest of the night was spent laughing and opening my new "pajamas". I got lots of cute outfits (wink wink) and one not so "cute" one curtesy of Kelly. haha

The large mishap of the night came when we started smelling smoke, followed by sweet Crystal saying, "Does anyone want to help me put out this fire?". Turns out the lid of the toilet seat in one of the bathrooms burst into flames from the candles lit behind it. Following shortly was a knock at the door by 2 security guards reporting a noise violation--if only they had known we'd just set the bathroom in flames...haha. Quite a memory.

The whole group--I love these girls!

Poor girl will always be my partner in crime. =)

Dessert!!

Sisters!!

We're missing one--see you in 34 days Abbey!!!!

35 Days-Happy Bachelorette Party Day to Me!!!

I'm SO SO SO excited about tonight!! All the girls are coming in to The Woodlands for what I know will be a night to remember. =)

This afternoon, Trey and I have another day of marriage counseling. We spent the evening at the church with a group of couples (some of which we were surprised to see that we knew!!), learning what it means to be married and how to make the relationship work in the long term. I can't wait for today which is my topic of choice--finances. haha. I'll post more when I can....

39 Days!!-More Car Trouble....

As disappointing as it may be, Honda drove all the way out to my house and towed my car this morning...=( I could have jumped it and drove it in, but with all the problems the service manager wanted to look at it without the battery getting recharged on my way down to the dealership. Lucky for me we have an extra car at the house with Kim being at school, so I'm still able to get to work on my own.

I got to see the new apartment yesterday, and one of the best parts is that it was barely a 10 minute drive from the office! The place was gorgeous and the furniture is awesome so I can't wait to add a feminine touch to it and decorate! Trey cooked me some spaghetti and yummy sausage...we felt like an old married couple for the evening. (that is, until I drove back home to The Woodlands...)

41 Days!!!!

Another couple days have passed and a lot has been accomplished. Yesterday I took my bridal portraits!!!!!!!!! I flew in late last Friday from New Jersey only to wake up to a busy day of makeup, hair, and lots of photos. The day started out stressful when my appointment for makeup didn't show. I was surprised at how I handled myself-at the end of the day I still get to marry my man and I've been doing my own makeup for years...=) My hair turned out beautiful and that was definitely the biggest nervous factor. You show pictures of how you want it to turn out, but you never actually know how it will....It was so fun walking around the complex as a bride and I can't wait until it's actually my big day!!!!!

44 Days-Happy 5 Years!!!

So it's been 5 years since the night Trey asked me to midnight yell at the Virginia Tech game and I can honestly say that I love him so much more than I ever thought possible. It's been really hard being away for two weeks, especially missing the celebration of our 5 years together, but as everything does this experience has only made me feel closer to him. He has been so responsible getting our new home together and gets so excited to tell me about it! He's definitely changed a lot. =) Here are some pictures of the new place:

The new couch and chair in our living room!!! We have a long way to go with decorating but I'm really excited we got our first piece of furniture.

Hopefully this is where I'll spend a large portion of my time--the kitchen!

46 Days!

Though I've been promised pictures on multiple occasions, I have yet to see the new apartment...=( From what I've heard was a rough day, Trey stayed home until late afternoon for the guys to come in and install all of the new carpet. He's enjoying the much shorter commute but I think he's anxious for a roomate =)....the day is coming faster than we think!!

Training is still terribly boring but we have a good time when we finally get off at night. I'll be home late Friday only to wake up Saturday for my bridal portraits!!! I'm super excited but I just have to get some good sleep between now and then.

49 Days--Trouble W/ Move In.....=(

Today was supposed to be the BIG day--Trey was moving all of our stuff up to our new place come November, we were having couches delivered, and I have been on pins and needles waiting for news of how everything looks....once I got the news I changed my mind and wished I hadn't heard it in the first place.

Apparently, the carpet in the apartment was destroyed by some kind of bleeching agent they use to clean it. Needless to say, instead of moving our stuff into a cute/clean place, they were surrounded by workers tearing up the carpet around them. They can't install the new stuff until Monday but at least things will be worked out before I come home from NJ.

As for turning lemons into lemonade: At least we're getting brand new carpet! =)

53 Days-Hello from Jersey

I've been in training officially for a day and a half and I'm definitely ready to come home. Since it's a national training I've met many many new people-a lot are from up North so they have the cool accents...=) I was not too happy about having random roommates, but I ended up switching my room so that I'm now staying with my best friend, Jaclyn. Probably a no no but I'm a whole lot happier about being here for 2 weeks now! Last night we had a team building event and played dodgeball, soccer, hockey, etc so I was in my element!! It was awesome! Deloitte has complimentary happy hours a couple times each week too so we've been staying up a lot later to meet new people-I thought about being the girl that goes to bed at 10 but thought better of it. I think I'll make it an early night tonight since we're in class by 8:00 every morning and the late nights are starting to get to me.

56 Days-Off to NJ

The time is ticking and right when I'm starting to get into the busiest time for wedding planning, I'm headed to New Jersey for two weeks of training for Deloitte. I am a little overwhelmed but I did give Trey a list of things for him to get done while I'm gone. We also stayed up late last night stuffing invitations since they will be mailed while I'm gone! I'm also sad that I'll miss the first day to see our new apartment! (Or should I say Trey's since he's living there long before I get to enjoy it...=). Trey is renting a U-haul and moving both of our things up next Saturday. We're also having our living room furniture delivered so I can't wait to see how it all fit in the room when I get back!! I'll give more details when I return!!!

60 Days!-First Day on the Job....

Today was my first day out at Deloitte and Touche, and so far it looks like this is going to be an interesting experience to say the least. It will be three weeks or so before I actually get into any client work so that is definitely a relief. I've been tentatively assigned my first two clients! The first may be the most challenging, since it's rumored that the office personnel speaks 97% Spanish (of which I basically know "Hola"). Since my job involves a majority of interviewing clients, this may prove difficult even with the mandatory translator. I have considered that this could very prove to be just one of many "new hire" pranks, though after looking into the company the website is entirely in Spanish and they specialize in wire transfers to Mexico. Could be interesting.... I will write more when I have a little more info!

Trey survived his bachelor party and it sounds like they had such great "guy" time. I am so grateful that he has so many guys in his life that he can just get away with.

63 Days!

Trey took off to Austin this weekend for his bachelor party and to celebrate his last few months of being single! His best men have several things planned so it should be a really fun weekend. Eric even flew in from California! I think Trey is really excited that a majority of the guys were able to come.

I start work on Tuesday...=( This weekend has so far consisted of ironing clothes, trying on my old suit (lucky me...it fits), and figuring out where I'll have to be on my first day. Honestly, I don't know what they'll have us doing the first week since they fly us out to New Jersey next week for our national two week training. We shall see....

67 Days!-We celebrated and bought Couches!

What a wonderful and busy weekend it has been for us! My parents surprised me by taking Trey and I to the best steakhouse EVER for passing my CPA exam-the newly opened Brenner's Steakhouse (formally Rainbow Lodge) in Houston! It will probably be a long time before we again set foot in a restaurant with such caliber again--I'm crossing my fingers that Kimberly passes the CPA in several years and we can go back! =)


In other news, Trey and I bought our couch (below) and a chair and a half this weekend! I'm excited that I can finally start thinking about decorating/colors/etc. I told Trey that I'm sticking as far away from the "dorm room" look as I can possibly be; none of his spiderman posters, the barbie sign, or even Anthony are going to be allowed in.... I think he'll be ok with that though =). The weekend we also picked out the tuxes for the wedding. I'm a little nervous that the groomsman ones are a little too "yellow" to match the bridesmaid dresses but Trey will have a try-on at the end of September to see.

71 days!!-I'm Boycotting Crate & Barrel...

Another day of little frustrations to give you a headache. Today I decided to be spontaneous and took a drive into Houston to have lunch with Trey. The main purpose of the trip was for us to take a final look at the furniture we picked out for the apartment at Crate & Barrel. We've had our hearts set on a couch and chair ensemble but wanted to take another peek before we ordered. Since Trey's moving in to the apartment on September 15th we decided we should slowly start furnishing so we didn't have to do it all at once after the wedding. To make a long story short, the fabric is being discontinued and there are 100 or less of each of the 3 pieces, meaning we have to order now or forget about it. So it's frustrating to have to make this decision so fast (Trey knows I hate this type of thing...) even though in honesty we really had our eye on it for several months now. This same type of thing happened with all of our bedding that was on the wedding registry for Crate & Barrel too, so it's even more annoying that it's happening twice!! If someone discontinues our bedroom furniture then there will really be trouble...=)

74 Days!!

Trey surprised me with flowers last night for passing my exam, and I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to brag a little so at least you've been warned. =) This past semester has been rough but I'd be naive to think it didn't affect other areas and relationships in my life. After Trey graduated in December and moved back home, we decided that it was probably better to spend time apart--our relationship would grow and I could focus on getting the exam out of the way faster without distractions. Little did I know, Trey had a little surprise up his sleeve when he proposed late December, and then I had to head back to school early January without him. Trey has been a constant support for me throughout all of this. He's cooked dinner on several occasions just so we could be around each other yet forced me study until the meal was ready. He let me cry on the phone when I was spending late nights in classes listening to boring lectures until 10:00 at night, when I felt overwhelmed having to plan a wedding at the same time, and when I came out of an exam and just knew I had "failed". And on several occasions, he would forgo "nights out" just so he could watch movies in the background of my studying just to be around. I know I haven't been the easiest person to support sometimes--even when I try my hardest I still get cranky, agitated, and sometimes hard to talk to. I will never take his support for granted and I love him for showing me what it looks like to truly serve and support another.

75 Days-I passed!!!

After a grueling 8 months, I just found out that I passed the last section of the CPA exam! No more note cards, no more cost accounting, but most importantly....NO MORE BECKER! Thanks for everyone who has taken me to exams, put up with me staying home to study, or been snapped at because I was cranky. I love you all and I'm so excited for the next step--the real world!!! =)

78 Days!!-BM Dresses are IN!!!

If you can't tell from the picture, this is definitely my "nervous, excited" face! Of everything I have to been worried about in relation to the wedding, the bridesmaid dresses have been the biggest thing on my mind to come together. I used an online company to save the girls some money and really hadn't heard from the company until the box showed up on my doorstep. The risk was well worth it though because all dresses came out perfect!!!!!! I held off opening the box until both the maids of honor could be there. =)

Other news...we just got done from moving Kimberly into her new dorm room (or should I say, cubby hole...) at Texas State University. I think she was ready to get out on her own and get a taste of independence. I know she is going to do great on her own; she may be the baby of the family but I think that only sets her up for success since we've already made the mistakes. haha I love you Kim!

81 Days-Wii Trouble =(

I've decided that Trey and I are either just having bad luck or we're being show the fleeting life of material possessions. Either way, the last couple days still haven't been much fun. It has been interesting to see the dynamic of handling these challenges together rather than calling our dads or a mechanic to the rescue. My car in still in the shop and I still have to jump my rental when I want to drive it. Trey also continued to have battery trouble in his car so I bought him a battery last night at Walmart. We stayed up late putting in the new one, losing screws, searching for washers, etc etc. It was frustrating but weirdly semi fun-I could prove that I do know something about cars and we could get our hands dirty. The saddest issue is that we have to send Trey's new Wii that I got him for his birthday back to Toys R Us. Hopefully they won't give us trouble to return it (it is over the 30 days...), but I have my fingers crossed that he won't have to wait long for a replacement. (It took me a month and a half to get my hands on it!!)

83 Days-Happy Belated BD Trey!!

Yesterday we finally celebrated Trey's birthday! Both of us have been out of town for the last several weeks so we haven't been able to celebrate. Friday I cooked for him and gave him his new Nintendo Wii!! For those of you that know me well, you'll know that spending that kind of money is a BIG deal so I think Trey was pretty shocked; it made it so much more fun to give it to him though. Yesterday I surprised him and took him to St. Arnold's, a local Houston brewery. We heard a talk on the history of beers and then got to sample all sorts of different beers. We were definitely amateurs though, several people brought in their own chairs, picnic lunches, and pizzas. It I had to guess, I'd say there were a couple hundred people. Afterwards, we went to the Alamo Drafthouse for dinner and a movie. It was a such a fun day and well worth the wait!