CHEERS FOR 1 YEAR!

Um what?! Can it be? We seriously celebrated our 1 year anniversary this weekend?! Eeeekkkk! Yes it is true Murph and I have been married a year, and I could hardly believe it. We decided to take last Friday off and spend our anniversary with 4 days at home, exciting I know! We did accomplish a few things though including: oil changes, painting all of the new trim to be installed, some yard work, a few runs and dinner with our friends Kyle and Sarah.

For our actual anniversary we exchanged some gifts, hit up Cozy Cafe for breakfast, spent some time on our deck, went to church and grabbed dinner at Johnny's with some dessert from the Cheesecake Factory. Pretty great day in my book!

In the last year Murph and I learned so much about each other. Since we didn't live together before we got married there was a bit of a learning curve in those first few months and we had our fair share of squabbles (i.e. banana peels go in the OUTSIDE trash!) but since this past Fall things have been sailing along pretty smooth. I truly think we can state getting on the same page with our money/debt situation as the biggest accomplishment in this first year and I am so glad we have squashed almost all of our debt in a matter of months. I also am thankful for our continued walk together in our faith. We both prayed for a spouse who would be a positive influence in our faith and we are so thankful that has been the case from the start.

So what's in store for year 2? Who knows! We have gotten some estimates for working on the exterior of our home and that is what we plan to save up for over the next 12 months or so. A new roof, gutters, soffit, fascia, siding and maybe some stone veneer are on the agenda. We have about 1/3 of the expenses saved for but will be focusing in on the other 2/3rds this year. After running through the pros/cons of full siding replacement we think that a repair is just a band-aid fix and we plan on staying at least another decade at Hawthorn Drive so we are going to take the plunge and we are so freaking excited to see what our house will look like after it's makeover.

She's beggin' for a makeover!

Cheers to a great first year and thank you to everyone who has supported us on our journey, we couldn't do it alone!

HEARTACHE

I'm emotional. I cry at every kids movie I see, the show Parenthood is close to being banned in our house, and once the sight of BabyGap opened my flood gates right in the middle of the mall. I'm emotional.

However, the older I get the more I truly see what heartbreak is, and realize I haven't experienced it. Deep sadness, yes. Heartbreak, no. The footage from Oklahoma is unbearable for me to watch, I can't imagine experiencing it firsthand. Yet somehow, this emerges. At the end she says, "Well I thought God just answered one prayer, to let me be ok ... He answered both of them, because this is my best friend." Sometimes I need a simple reminder that even in tragedy God is at work.

ADOPT!

When I was young we had a Shih Tzu, I named him Murphy, how funny is that?! He was a punk that bit me twice in the face, and "went to a farm north of town" when he got my sister ... and yes I am bitter that I got two bites and she got one! After that the Bauman's never had another pet. Then two years ago after dating for a few months I got a text from Murph with this picture in it.

Hi. Please love me!

Chief was a pup at the ARL and I was smitten. I had wanted a dog for years but the timing was never right. I saw those big goofy eyes and we had to visit! After our visit to the ARL, we knew he had to be ours (ok, Murph's, I was just the girlfriend). Murph got him the next day and we started the crazy ride of dog life, and changed his name to Willy. He was a holy terror. He bit, he barked, he was naughty, he brought us to tears more than once. But we stuck it out and did some training with him. Slowly but surely he changed, we saw he really was smart.

What a furry mess he was when we got him

Crazy dog

He was there when Murph asked me to marry him, and I was so happy to hear that were were officially going to be a family :) Soon after we celebrated having him a year. His "crazy ears" had finally laid down and he was now the happiest pup around.

Engaged. Finally going to be a family!

So dapper on the celebration of his first year with us!

Willy is a dog, this I know. But he is part of our family, and I love him like mad. He never fails to greet me at the door jumping like crazy, he's a great running partner and the best cuddler ever. He lays in my lap when I cry and makes us laugh daily. My dad is nuts about him which makes me smile, even though he feeds him whatever he pleases when we visit them. Willy is a keeper for sure. I am so glad we rescued this mutt 2 years ago, he's the best and will always be the start of our family. Happy WillyDog day! Adopt!

First family Christmas card as the Murphy's

Our General Contractor

Love!

One smart pup :)

I can't lie I melt when he is sleepy on my chest 

LOST DREAMS

As 29 comes lurking around the corner I am able to look at my life and feel truly blessed. I have a wonderful and supportive husband, crazy lovable dog, a home I adore, and a network of family and friends I wouldn't trade for the world. But something doesn't sit right. I know my life will never be a simple straight line where I cruise along blissfully oblivious to the problems and plight of others, and that there will always be a kink or 2 in the chain, but this is a 5 year kink that is starting to wear on my heart a little more than usual lately. My job. Bleh, even saying the word job adds to the pit in my stomach. No it's not a career, it's a job. It's nothing that I am proud of, it pays the bills and has a few perks here and there, but it's a job.

I never wanted just a job. I remember being a kid and having HUGE dreams. I wanted to write a book about my sister, I wanted to be a lawyer or an orthodontist, then there was the landscape architect phase and the post college art teacher pilgrimage I went on. When I was young I wanted to wear suits and be a powerful career woman, I wanted to do big and powerful and good things. I knew I was smart enough to do it, that never stood in my way, but somehow in college I became an artist. I was happiest when I was making something, even if I wasn't one of the CRAZY talented students (seriously, one just did the special effects for Iron Man 3, no lie). I also fell oddly in love with retail in college. I ADORED working for Victoria's Secret and to this day would still love a retail job if it didn't mean nights, weekends and holidays. So how did I get here? Sitting at a desk in a law office with 2 co-workers? How did I lose my first job and why have I flopped around so much since while my husband has had the same one he loves for the last 11 years? Guess we are all different.

As I casually look for a different position, I feel like my heart isn't in it. "I could do that" I say a lot, knowing my drive wouldn't be pushing me forward, rather a feeling of sustainment for my family would be the force. So I sit and assess my positive attributes wondering exactly what position will fill this void, what will take the lump out of my throat and the pit out of my stomach. And I don't have an answer.

I do know that God will provide. I will not be at this desk forever. Something will come along and I will feel the rush and excitement of a new job again. That I am sure. But most of all I need to dream again. I need to do something uniquely me, I need a new goal, I need something inspiring that I love to work towards. I need those feelings I had as a kid knowing I could do anything I wanted, to fill my spirit again. I'm not sure when my life will change and where the path will go, but I will keep the faith. God always provides. Not always in the way I plan, but He does.