Simple, Happy, Grateful: May 2013

Well, here's another attempt to get the "blog ball" rolling. I am very impressed by all ya'll that post regularly. So much has happened since I posted last.

If you can believe it, I am sitting in Barcelona, Spain right now creating this post. Riley's MBA program does an international trip each year, so I decided to come along for the fun. We've only been here two days, and we've seen so much! All the students are in a business meeting right now, so instead of wandering the streets alone, blogging might be a safer decision:) Actually, the city of Barcelona is considered pretty safe. Our guide mentioned that other than the pick-pocketing and theft, the crime rate is fairly low. Which is good. I'm not sure about Morocco though (that's our second destination of the trip). We will see. I must say that I am so glad that Riley and I are where we are in our lives right now. I look at some of these other MBA students and just find myself grateful. Already, 2 students have lost their debit cards and one actually got his passport stolen due to the fact that they were drunk. I know it's wrong to judge right, but really??? #1-I think getting drunk is stupid (not just because of my religion, but many other reasons). #2- I think getting drunk in a foreign country is even more stupid. #3-well...ok I could go on and on about how stupid this situation is, but I think you get it. Right?

Anyway, we are having a blast visiting, vacationing, and meeting new people. More to come on our trip later. Who knows how much later, since I haven't been to consistent on the blogging thing:)

So, we are getting settled into our new house! We have been in more a few months now. I still can't believe that it's ours. I still feel like a little baby. How is it that I'm married, have a 20-month old son, and a new house? Oftentimes I realize how short our time on this Earth really is. Why do I get so stressed out over something that when looked at compared to eternity is nothing. The other day I found myself getting embarrassed by asking so many questions at work one day. If you know me well, you know how easily I get embarrassed. My face turns bright red, my voice shakes; hiding it is impossible. Later that day I was looking back, and I thought..Why? Why do I put myself through so much misery when that little moment of being embarrassed was but one small moment of eternity. It didn't matter. Who cares that I asked a lot of questions, who cares if I have to face another trial, who cares if things aren't working out the way I wanted. Because I know it will change. I know that these moments of despair or discomfort are nothing when compared to an eternity of experience. I hope that all makes sense. I'm not trying to make anyone else's trials smaller than they really are, because I do know how hard it can be to be deep in an exhausting battle of striving to be positive and happy when all you want to do is curl up and cry. I do want to remind all of us that our "afflictions shall be but a small moment."

Wow, ok, back to our new house. We love it! Of course this is our first home, so there are a few things that we wished we would've done a little differently, but overall we are so pleased with it. We are learning:) Here are a few pics before we moved anything in.

Love, love, love that we upgraded to granite countertops. Not cheap! But totally worth it!

Our cute little fireplace. We now have TV hanging above the mantle thanks to Uncle Bob's help.

Master bath. Who would've thought having two sinks would make getting ready for bed so much more pleasant.

Our builders put in our front yard for us, and seeded the back. The front looks great, thanks to all this Kentucky rain. However, the rain has also helped move the seed all around in the back creating cute little patches everywhere. We're not sure if we'll end up just sodding it or adding more seed. That's something to think about after the trip. The mud has provided Owen with plenty of fun though!