[life] I Can't Live Without... the Texas Rangers #3

I'm linking up with Katie at "...for Lauren and Lauren" for another "I Can't Live Without" link up!

 

Now I know I have quite a few Texas readers/subscribers, but I'm not sure of how many other states and countries are represented. Also, I am not sure of how highly you may view your area sports teams... but at our house, we BLEED Jesus and the Texas Rangers! 

Since Nate and I are both native Texans and lived in North Texas (me)/East Texas (him) for the majority of our lives, we have been bred into the Texas Rangers fandom. We both remember attending games as children and that devotion hasn't withered into our adult-age.

If the game is on TV, we are either watching it live or recording it to watch later. I am not a big "sports aficionado", but Nate has been an excellent instructor, teaching me the ins and outs of the game. I have always known the gist, but to know plays and positions... I feel pretty professional! 

My parents live about 10 minutes away from the Ballpark in Arlington (it is now called "Globelife Park", but throwback Rangers fans will ALWAYS know it as the Ballpark), so any time we go to visit my family and the Rangers are in town, we make a point to attend the game. So much fun! Baseball really is America's Pastime and I love the history, class, and nostalgia that goes along with a good ol' baseball game. Plus the food... you MUST indulge in ballpark food when attending a game! My go-to's are always a bag of cotton candy and some garlic Parmesan fries. Delish!

So what about you? Are you as devoted to your hometown team as we are? Where do you live, and what team(s) do you support? We also BIG HEART the Dallas Cowboys (football), and of course we support the Dallas Mavericks (basketball) and Dallas Stars (hockey), but we don't avidly watch those two sports as much as we watch baseball and football. Oh, to be Texan :)

[love] 10 Random Things

I am borrowing Brittany's (from Fun with the Fullwoods) idea on posting 10 Random Things about myself! Like Brittany, I enjoy reading these types of posts from other bloggers because it allows us to get to know one another as a blogging community. So if you are reading, feel free to join the fun and create your own 10 Random Things post!

1. Nathan and I LOVE to travel! We haven't gone anywhere crazy, like to Europe or Asia, but small road trips or even exploring our own state is enjoyable to us. Our favorite way to travel is by ship, via a cruise!

2. Which leads me to point #2, we are AVID cruisers! Nate has been on 6, and I have been on 7 (and we are only in our twenties: we are going to be those little old people on cruises who are "Diamond" members because we've been on so many!)

3. When I was two, I broke my left arm by jumping on my bed. When I jumped off, I landed on the frame of the bed. Whoops! Because I was still developing my bones as a toddler, my arm did not straighten out. Therefore, my left arm is majorly crooked! It looks broken, but it's not :)

4. Our friends mean the world to us: when we first moved to South Texas, it was hard getting to build meaningful friendships simply because there weren't that many people our age or in the same season of life as us. We have been so blessed to get to form a close-knit bond with three other couples from our church. Now we all do everything together! We call ourselves "MNG" because we used to get together every Monday night for dinner at our homes, but now that it's summer, it's a free for all and we get together all the time! So, so thankful for these friends.

5. I am about the pickiest eater you can imagine: I don't like vegetables or seafood, which are two major ingredients in many dishes. Since marrying Nathan, I have embraced guacamole and onions... some seasoned squash is okay... but other than that, I'm still pretty picky! I only drink water (I don't like the way carbonated soda feels running down my throat), and I'm pretty picky about what type of alcoholic beverages I like (I've never tasted beer and never will: if it's not fruity and frozen, I probably won't like it).

6. I am a Pastor's Wife! Nathan is the Senior Pastor at our small church. He has been the pastor for about two and a half years, which before that he worked with the music and youth at the various churches we attended. God speaks through him and Nathan is so blessed with the gift of preaching and teaching. I could never do what he does, but he makes it looks so easy! I'll have to try to post a sermon of his sometime: they are online! Below, he is about to baptize a church member and he is leading our Christian Seder Meal (the Thursday before Easter).

7. I have just completed my fifth year of teaching in TX! What?! I beat the statistic! Most teachers resign from teaching within the first five years because it is so daunting, and believe me- I have thought about it! But I will be continuing to teach, Lord willing, in the fall at my same school as the Kindergarten teacher. I LOVE Kindergarten because it is so fun, interactive, and the kids are precious (most of them, anyways!).

8. My parents have been happily married for almost 33 years. I have a big brother named Michael, who married a sweet gal named Claire. Neither of us have had children yet, but between all of our families, we have five dogs and two cats!

9. My favorite hobbies are: sleeping, taking photographs, spending time with my friends and family, staying in (vs. going out), wearing PJs, being crafty and having the "Psh, I can make that!" attitude, shopping, and planning parties/events.

10. We are the proud owners parents of two fur-babies, Chloe (Jack Russell Terrier) and Oliver (Shih-Tzu) (which, if you've been reading my blog for a while, you are quite aware of these two)!

There you have it! I hope that gives you a bit more of an insight as to who I am. If you have any other questions for me, feel free to ask and we can have a Q&A blog series too! Have a great week!


"I love the Lord, because he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy. Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live." Psalm 116: 2

[What is God trying to tell you today? Call on Him and He will reply!]

[film] Crown Princess Caribbean Cruise

So... six months later isn't TOO late, right?

I've been fiddling with YouTube and video editing over the past 24 hours and I may be addicted.... Will "vlogs" be a new addition to Everyday with the Jays? Doubtful. BUT maybe! I tried my hand at editing, and although it is highly amateur, I had a good time with it! Enjoy our escapades from our family cruise vacation from the spring:

Anyone else upload videos to YouTube? Do tell!

Happy Monday!

[life] Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to the absolute, best Daddy I know :)

He is sweet, loving, adores my mom, brother, and I, as well as both of our spouses.

He babysits our pups even though he isn't the biggest fan of the animal kingdom ;)

I inherited his quiet spirit when amongst a crowd, as well as his narrow feet, although he is a whiz at math and figuring things out, which I definitely did NOT inherit- just ask Nate ;) He has always been there to lend a helping hand for all of Nate and I's antics when it comes to home improvement!

He always gave me shoulder rides when I was little, flew me like Superman into my bedroom at night to tuck me in, and stirred my ice cream until it was silky smooth and soft... which I do, and make Nate do as well for me, to this day.

I hope you have a fabulous day, Dad, and thank you for always being around/involved/active in my life since the day I was born! I love you so so SO much!


I hope everyone out there is having a blast with the fathers in their lives: dads, grandfathers, uncles, brothers, husbands, etc. I know it can be a difficult day for some, for those who have lost their fathers or who never knew their fathers. We are a blessed people to have our eternal Father in Heaven who watches over us and knows our hearts from the inside out! God is the ultimate Father, the Father who our earthly fathers should model and reflect in our lives. Be thankful not only this day, but every day for your earthly fathers and your Heavenly Father! Thank you Lord for all of your goodness :)

Have a great week everyone!

"The father of a righteous child has great joy; a man who fathers a wise son rejoices in him." Proverbs 23:24

[love] Happy Mother's Day!

I was so glad that my parents, brother, and sister in law were able to come visit us this weekend for Mother's Day! We had a great weekend of relaxation, eating good food, putting together a puzzle (our favorite past time as a family), assembling flower gifts for all the mom's from our church (a different post for a different day), and watching the pups play together: my brother and his wife have two dogs too, so we call all of the pups "the cousins". Yes, we're that kind of family! We gifted my mom a photo book containing photos from our last cruise vacation: she loved it!

After church, we headed to eat some yummy Mexican food and commemorated the day with a photo: love my family, so incredibly blessed by them all!

Other photos from the weekend:

Snippets of my mom's Mother's Day gift: a photo book from our cruise vacation!

Nate cuddling with our pup-niece, Bella: she has the prettiest eyelashes!

Bella and Ralf, the pup-nephew!

Getting kisses from Ralf

We love puzzles!

I hope all of you who are mothers had a fabulous day of being spoiled and pampered! You are all fabulous!

Happy Monday!

"Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her..." Proverbs 31:28

[life] Cruising Together

Whew! Sorry for the late update on our trip! It was HARD getting back into the swing of things and routines... I was constantly yawning every day (no more waking up to pleasure and relaxation) and it was hard to get motivation to do anything (no one to serve me or make my bed? hmph.) But I have calculated we have only 25 more days of school! YEAAAHHH! And some of those days will be end of the year events, so I just know it will go by in an instant. This school year went by insanely fast! But! Back to the cruise overview :)

We had a fabulous time on our 7-day Caribbean cruise vacation aboard the Crown Princess cruise ship! Here are some photos from our travels: I'll try not to type TOO much and let the pictures speak for themselves :) Enjoy!

On the first formal night, they had a champagne waterfall! Nate and I did it too, how fun/nerve wracking!

 

Nate and I won $300 during Bingo one day! Woot!!!

 

Honduras in the background... Sigh... Oh well, safety first!

Shopping in Belize

Was taken on National Sibling Day :) Love ya bro!

Standing in front of our ship on the pier that leads to Cozumel!

We "rented" a kayak near the shore at the beach we were visiting: it was super windy that day!

With my favorite fellas, Dad & Nate!

With my sister in law and mom on Deck 7 at night! 

Last dinner: with our waiter and junior waiter! Walter is from India and Vasi is from Romania!

There are TONS more pictures, but this is a pretty good overall review of our trip. We had a blast: cruises are our absolute favorite vacation! We are already planning our next vacation for our anniversary in June, but we are torn: Destin or New Orleans? Thoughts? 

Have a great week!

"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." 1 Corinthians 10:31