May

Travis and I are loving owning a home! It has been such a blessing and such a joy to have!  We love that we can have people over, house small groups, spread out, work on projects, watch Prim do laps around the backyard, watch Tuff watching Prim do laps...

We are so grateful to be in Fort Worth and feel like our community is being established here.  We don't know how long we will be here, but we are loving it.  Travis is enjoying his job at XTO as a Lease Analyst and I am still working as a Dental Assistant in an Orthodontic Office.  I work in people's mouths..

We definitely learned alot through buying a home.  We ended up being "homeless" for about 2 weeks because we got kicked out of our townhome and didn't know if we were ever going to close with our home.  We were so blessed to have Travis' Dad take us in and my Aunt Trese and Uncle Marty to let us store everything in their townhome garage!  Yep, the four of us (Trav, Me, Tuff and Baby Prim) stayed on Travis' Dad's futon!  It was definitely a memory maker.  We didn't really know where anything was for 2 weeks... but we had coffee in the mornings with Pop and watched Modern Family at night as a big family :)

Our first guest was Trav's Mom.  She was driving to Austin and came to spend the entire weekend with us! We LOVED it.  She took us to Lowes (Trav's favorite place..along with every mans) and we got paint, a BRAND NEW FRONT DOOR (original didn't have a master lock and I think a child could kick it down) a fan and so many wonderful necessities with buying a home.  It was such a great weekend. We painted the whole kitchen including the cabinets.  We now have a deep purple kitchen with creme colored cabinets :)

My parents drove down attached with a UHAUL with my bedroom furniture!! We now have a guest room thanks to them!! Travis and I rented a Jack Hammer and a Tiller (which I learned that day what it was) and tore up our random concrete slabs and pathways in our backyard and tore up the dry rocky weedy soil.  It was exhausting but fun to work on it together.  We were palnning to seed our soil and for it to take years..but this is what happened...
Mom calls me at work..
Mom-" Tricia, Salvador and Alfonso are at your house..
Me-"Mom, who are these people?"
Mom-"Oh, they are going to sod your entire backyard! Dad and I are taking care of it.."
Me-"Mom! Thats so awesome!! Thank you! How did you find them?"
Mom-"I met some of your klife families here and met some of your friends and asked them.."
Me-"What how? Mom, only you would find these people and meet them."

We now have a backyard!

Libby (my best friend) and her boyfriend-Peter- came from Tulsa to help us paint! We knocked out two rooms..one was formally a nasty Ralph Lauren Denim Paint..which we painted a chocolate brown..and painted the dining room a sage green. Love them :)

Tuffy's Tales: Well, this little big eared dog keeps hanging on my jugular and biting my nose.  Mom and Dad tell me to practice the fruits of the Spirit, but its hard with the patience...

Prim's Peeps: I love to play. I love to jump and lick Dads face at 4 am! I love: bugs, dirt, grass, flying objects, strings, floss... Mom calls me a Hippie.

Joys and Learning Curves of Marriage: Travis and I found that we love working on projects together! Its quality time and an activity.  Find a project for you and your spouse to work on!

Around Thanksgiving, Trav and I met my Pops and Marion in Fredricksburg!

Our best friends in Fort Worth-The Watsons- new baby Owen!

Travis got in a car accident (not his fault) and he got second degree burns and bruised his wrists

Ouchie burns

Travis' Mom came for the weekend to spoil us by taking us to Lowes and helping us paint the Kitchen!

Libby and Peter came to help paint! Prim is psycho

Our Yard when we moved in...

Handsome Husband has big muscles for jack hammering

We tore down the shed that was falling apart and tore up the concrete 

Travis using his Christmas present from me! Building the side fence and gate

Our beautiful new yard and fence!

Beautiful!

Prim is growing into her ears...she is in the awkward middle age..

Thank you for reading!!

Changes

We have added another member to our family. No we are not pregnant, we went a different route for now :)
Travis and I had been talking about getting another dog for awhile because: we want her to mimic Tuffy and grow up exactly like him, we don't want a puppy while we have little kids, we are about to get a house with a yard, Tuffy gets lonely during the day.. many reasons.

We were looking online on Craigslist for furniture, then it turned to puppies for sale, then I told Trav to put his shoes on cause we are going to look at 4 week old german shepherd/lab mixes. It was love at first site.

She has been awesome in potty training (she is 6 weeks) however, she has had separation anxiety when we are not touching her or when she is in her crate. Therefore, us and the two hairy ones all bundle up on our bed at night. Pathetic right?

Tuffy has first child syndrome and is pouting just a little bit...but he is so patient with her and lets her gnaw on his tail and play with his paws.

We have so many changes going on that are all blessings. We bought our first home! We are planted in Fort Worth for a couple of years and wanted to make an investment in our living situation instead of throwing away our money in an apartment that rent continues to increase. We are waiting for our loan to get processed and got an interest rate of 3.74. We feel very blessed and know that our parents and grandparents have helped us immensely get to this place where we can have a home.

Trav's Highlights: Got put on full time with XTO Energy, thankful for God's provision through it all.

Tricia's Randomness: First night we had prim, I put her in her crate to sleep. Trav and I were in bed and she started crying and whining. I looked at Trav so concerned and go "Why is she doing that! Is she ok!?" Trav just laughed at me and replied" Welcome to having a puppy."

Tuffy's Tales: Well, there is this little black thing that keeps following me around. I don't know what to think of it. I try to look as angelic and perfect as possible when Mom and Dad get mad at Prim.

Prim's Peeps: I love my new family. They come get me when I cry in my prison and let me chew on toys. I follow big white brother around and love to chew on his tail cause he doesn't care. I pooped all over my crate when mom was gone and she was not happy and very shocked. I covered my crate with poop, the wall behind it and the floor around it..oops. I have met many new people cause mom brings me places. I don't like to sit in the passenger seat, I crawl onto mom's lap and lay there while she drives.

Joys and Pains of Marriage: Trav and I have been learning alot about communication through all of our huge decisions recently. Its awesome to see that he truly listens to me and my opinions. We have a great balance with the emotional side (me) and the logical legistical side of him to really make solid decisions. Both of us respecting the way the other is processing knowing it will produce a better product.

A Time and A Season

Pictures:
Tuffys Surgery
Travis and Tim Watson
Big group photo of Travis' side of the family at the Ranch

Finally feeling the hot chocolate, long sleeved shirt and seeing your breath in the air, weather in Texas has been quite the relief. Travis and I agree that we both miss the four seasons. Fort Worth can have a few trees that change colors, however, its no yellow painted aspens in the mountains. We are loving this weather that allows you to bundle up with a heavy North Face and a Starbucks to warm your hands and insides.

Tuffy had another surgery. He tore his left "ACL" back in July and overcompensated with his weight and tore his right one this past month. He is our special needs dog...an expensive one.

We are still in our 3 story townhome that faces downtown Fort Worth. We are content here, but are looking for homes to buy for an investment opportunity. Its been a learning process for sure.

Travis has a new job with XTO Energy! Praise the Lord, they actually called him and sought him out to hire him. He loves it and is challenged everyday learning the foundation of the oil and gas business. He is catching on quick, which doesn't surprise me because he is so smart.

I am still working at Kelley Orthodontics and am an official Dental Assistant! I passed my exams and made a 98% on my final :) It is interesting the way the Lord can bring out a terrible situation of my teeth breaking and turn in into a passion I have. My favorite aspect of this job is that we have the same patients coming in every 4-7 weeks. This gives me an amazing opportunity to show them the love of Christ and get to know them personally. I am also working at Christ Chapel with the 5/6 grade still. I have been there for One and a Half years and want to finish out with the 6th graders. Oh my 6th graders, I love them so much. They make me laugh and bring so much joy to my life.

As far as marriage goes, Travis and I have been married one year! Its crazy to think how much we have done and gone through in one year:
-Honeymoon in Saint John
-Fort Worth shutting down from the snow for one whole week. We had so many fires and read The Hunger Games during this time
-Car Dealerships galore...ugh the agony
-Meeting the Watsons- our good friends in Fort Worth who are expecting a baby in February!
-Watching the Harry Potter series with the Watsons
-Snowboarding in Colorado
-Carole Ann and Jeds Wedding in Colorado
-Supporting Anna in her Theta shows
-Seeing Mary Cherry run Cross Country
-Having Mom Haynes and Dana Haynes come visit and go to the rodeo in January
-Having Alaback Mom and Dad and Mary come down to visit
-Trips to the Ranch
-Seeing cousins nearby: Schardts, Munnekes, Lipperts
-Sweet Sammies x 1000000
-Seeing friends in Houston, Tulsa, Dallas, Canadian, Colorado..
-Making new friends- Jordan Hamon, Zack Ethridge, Mallory Tarp
-Paying for Tuffys surgerys
-Our trip to Sante Fe, New Mexico
-And so many more..

We are so thankful for our one year and know that we couldn't be anywhere without the Lord to give us His Grace and His Love.

Joys and Pains of Learning:
Give a heads up to the Husband when you might be a little more emotional one week out of the month...or a couple weeks out of the month for sensitive people like me :)

Make sure to plan dates for each other to keep the quality time a priority and romance alive :) :)

Tuffy's Tales: Well, Mom and Dad keep putting this awful cone on my head that makes me run into things when I walk. They also don't let me sleep with them anymore, they also tell me everyday how proud they are of me...I am loved.

Travis' ESPN: TCU in Poinsettia Bowl. Why can't we play well in the first half?

Tricia's Randomness: I had a patient throw up on me. I also had a patient fall asleep to the point of snoring while I was working on his mouth.

We are so thankful for you and will try to update more often!

T3

Living in Texas. A Coloradian and Oklahoman

The hottest summer ever recorded in Texas was this summer 2011. What a joy that Travis and I got to share in this record...not really. We didn't have rainfall from May(ish) to August. Texas almost broke the record for consecutive days with temperatures over 100 degrees...but I ruined it..but really. For my birthday-August 25- I asked the Lord to give me rain for a birthday present cause I just love rain. I prayed and expected. August 25th I woke up and screamed when I looked out the window and saw lightening. I saw it in the distance and was thankful that at least some of Texas got my birthday present. Then went downstairs to drink coffee with Travis. All of a sudden, he yells, "NO WAY!" and runs to the balcony and opens the door to a pouring rain. Tell me how this happens on the hottest summer ever recorded with temperatures making 100 feel cold and almost breaking the consecutive over 100 record.... you can't explain it. Its because the Lord blessed me the most on my birthday and answered my prayer in a mighty way. Pray with expectations.

We have been doing really well in Fort Worth. Travis is still working for Dale Properties and got transferred to the SWAT team. Sounds fearsome. Its because my husband is muscle man and can handle anything. But what he actually does is leases in a different area that only certain people were selected to take part of. He is amazing.

I am working at Kelley Orthodontics as a Dental Assistant and have been working there since June! I absolutely love it. Let me give you a glimpse of my working environment:
-Wake up at 6 a.m and get to the office at 7:15 a.m
-Patients are seated at 7:30 a.m
-I put on my mask, snap my gloves on, and tell them "everything is going to be ok, I am new at this and just guess which instruments are used for stuff and you will bleed.." just kidding.
-I can do about half of the appointment usually...my knowledge is still increasing everyday!
-I get to meet new people and KIDS! I love it!
-Lunch Break for an hour and 15 min. Tuesdays and Thursdays our staff (minus Dr.) go power-walking through the mall. Yes, its a great picture...all of us in our scrubs power walking, power talking through the mall and an occasional drop off to see a store.
-I am the youngest person on staff by 10 years. I love working with Moms that take care of me, grandmas that are so hilarious and awesome and everyone asking what a Twitter is and how to do it. Its an incredible environment. I think its so cool how I am the youngest there and I am used to being with people alot younger than me or my age- Fifth and Sixth graders. The Lord is stretching me in beautiful ways.

Travis ESPN: Rangers. Go.

Tricia's Randomness: We recently went to Colorado for Carole Anns Wedding! (Travis sister) It was gorgeous and absolutely filled with joy from the Lord. I just love Travis' family. When I see them, I honestly feel like they have been in my life as long as the Lipperts or Alabacks have. I tear up seeing them and tear up saying good-bye. They are so close to my heart. I am so blessed to have the best new family.

Tuffy Tales: Well, I just can't help myself sometimes. Mom and Dad left me and my first thought was to go up to the bathroom, get into the trash can and spread out Moms female products all over the bed. It made sense to me.. Mom was gagging and grossed out when she saw..

Joys and Pains of Learning: Travis and I just laugh a ton. We recently just dropped tuffy on our friends -the Hamons- porch and rang the door bell and left. They came outside to a barking Tuff and no us. It was funny. We came back and just hung out with them. We decided we love just being random and laughing. Encourage you to do the same!

The Napping House

There was a book my parents read to us when we were little called,The Napping House. "In the Napping House where everyone is sleeping..there is a.. (and this is where I add my story) dog laying on a girl, a girl laying on a bed, a boy laughing at the girl...in the napping house where everyone is trying to sleep." This happened today, Travis and I love our Sunday naps that last 2-3 hours. Tuffy kept looking at us from the floor holding his toy duck -Tuck- and wanting to be on the bed with us. When I give in, thats the key for him to jump up and lay right in the middle of Travis and I...our 85 pound lab. And he chooses to lay his head on me and sprawl out on me. My parents told me that their Dashound-Hans- used to sleep in the middle of them at the beginning of their marriage and that made me think...I bet that was alot easier to deal with a 15 pound dog doing that!

We are going to see the final Harry Potter tonight with the Watsons. No, we are not dressing up. Little late for that, not to mention weird. Cough Libby Francis.

Travis' ESPN: When is the TCU football stadium going to be done?

Tricia's Randomness: I love my jobs. Working with 5/6 graders and training to be a Dental Assistant in the best Orthodontics office ever. And I am getting braces...I will look 13 again.

Tuffy's Tales: Well, I went to Grandpas house to swim. I stuck two paws in and froze. I don't know if I can swim for a long time from my surgery. I might have Hydrophobia.

Joys and Pains of Learning: Heard that the first year of marriage is the muscle building year...definitely could see why. Building the foundation for years and years to come. My friend Alison Kelley told me, "God gave us two ears to listen, one mouth to speak.." Think and listen before you speak.

A Beautiful Refresher

Pictures: Travis and I's date when we went to paint and then of course Sweet Sammies after!
Me and my 3 best friends from high school, Meg, Libby, Maddie
Tuffy and his inflatable protector so he doesn't lick his scars.

We had a refresher this week from our drought. Rain. It was beautiful. Travis and I were sitting in our kitchen and I saw through the crack of the closed blinds a little of the sky and go, "Oh my gosh its cloudy!" And sure enough we got some rain and how amazing it was not to be in the 100's! Thank you Lord

Travis and I are having a relaxing weekend. We actually held out for one week to eat Sweet Sammies on Friday night. Saturday, we went over to our friends the Watsons to watch Harry Potter. Never watched the HP movies until we all decided to see them and they are ok. Probably wouldn't be a nerd and dress up for the movies, cough Libby Francis. :)

Travis went over to play video games with some of his guy friends last night. Manly. He won..what did he win? His answer: Pride.
My hero.

At church today we are starting to study Nehemiah. What I love about our pastor is that he dives into scripture giving us Godly qualities to pursue and challenge us with. For example, Nehemiah was very compassionate. The Lord searched for someone with a heart that is compassionate. Compassion is:
Asking someone "Really How Are You Doing!? Don't flippantly ask...truly ask how they are doing as a whole.."
Weeping about someones hardships or pain
Praying for others
Relating with others-humbling ourselves
Hopes for others

Do we have confidence in God's love and mercy?
Confidence in Gods Faithfulness?
In His Power?

Compassion risks it all for others..

Do you feel like you are a compassionate person?

Loved the sermon, as always convicting.

Travis ESPN:

Tricia's Randomness: I popped a bracket this week on a girls mouth as I was taking off her colored bands on her braces. I didn't tell her I did it, but I told the staff. I felt pretty bad cause it is just another couple of steps to take in order to put the bracket back on. Dr Kelleys response, " Tricia, sadly that won't be the last...you will have many more of those." What a great boss. I love where I work and what I am doing!

Tuffy Tales:Well Mom took me to the Vet again. As we pulled up to the clinic, I started howling cause I was so excited to see everyone...kept howling in the little building at everyone...got everyones attention and mom kept trying to shh me and put her hand over my mouth..kept howling...made sure everyone knew I was there. They thought I was a beagle by my bark. Oh and I think the said I might have torn my other leg and get surgery...again! NO! The squirrel population is going up and I am not there to take care of it because I am on a leash and restriction.

Joys and Pains of Learning: I just want to take this moment to tell you all how wonderful my husband is. I have been working 60-70 hour weeks because I am doing full time ortho and christ chapel hours. And Travis has never once complained or that he didn't want me to go hang out with kids on week nights, he even leaves the house when girls bible study comes over, he cooks dinner, cleans the house, the laundry and always asks me "what can I do to make it easier on you?" So selfless and I am so blessed. That is a joy in learning for sure, how to serve one another selflessly....hard but incredible.

Burns/Bowles Weekend

This weekend we have Travis' Cousin Brooke and her husband Doug Burns kids-Mary Beth and Austin staying with us! (I need to learn how to do apostrophes..who wants to correct and teach me?) The Burns lived in Costa Rica as missionaries for 4 years. It was such a blessing to have them close to me while I was in Costa Rica to go get filled up with family time and love. They are truly an amazing family. Yesterday, we went and saw Captain America, went to our favorite BBQ spot-Coopers- and then of course topped of our night with delicious Sweet Sammies. We walked into Sweet Sammies and were greated by the owners-Kelly and her husband Dan- and Austin asked us how we know them...uh its because we go there all the time..Regulars. Then we got them hooked on Lost and watched that till midnight.

Today we are planning on splitting up and MB and I going shopping and the boys something with sports and getting hurt or whatever.

Travis' ESPN: Every College Football Player reported to their camp on Wednesday. TCU ranked number 15 in the country, CU has the toughest schedule in the country, OSU could be the dark horse in the Big 12, shaping up to be a great football season.

Tricia's Randomness: Went to Tulsa/OKC last weekend for Libby and Ali's Nursing Graduation from OU and then Ali's bachelorette party at White Water Bay. So fun, I love my friends. Crazy story though. We were leaving White Water and heard screaming and turn around and a woman was having a massive seizure, eye rolled back, foam out of the mouth and then she hit her head so there was a pool of blood around her. Ok...so my fear is fainting. Even when people roll their eyes that makes me weak. So this was frightening in the least and shook all of us up for awhile. But on a happier note, Ali and Matthew are getting married the last weekend in August and they are just an amazing, Godly couple that we are so thrilled to walk alongside of them in marriage.

Tuffy Tales: Well, I am still on this leash thingy and don't like it. I made a new bestie last night, her smell was like fresh bones, they call Mary Beth.

Joys and Pains of Learning: We went on a unusual date on Wednesday. We went to this place called Painting with a Twist. You bring your own bottle of wine and go learn how to paint the "object" of the night. We painted a sunset and it was so fun for us to go do something different! This week take your hubby or wifey on a date and do something different!!