Weekend recap- better late than never!

Hubby and I are not the type of couple that celebrate Valentine's Day. Well, maybe just a couple of times when we were newly married,  although now we figure we should celebrate our love for one another daily :). This past weekend, our friends invited us to come alone with them on a wine and chocolate tour. Those happen to be two of my favorite things so how could I decline! The weather was dreary but it didn't stop us from having a lovely time. For a small fee, we were able to visit 5 wineries and sample chocolates that would complement the wine offered. We really enjoyed 4 out of 5 of the wineries and only because one of them served flavored liqueur which tasted more like flavored cough syrup! 

We ended the evening with a delicious dinner at a nearby pizzeria. Its always a good time with these two! 

On Sunday, we paid a visit to a new church and I am happy to report that we really enjoyed it. Their teachings align with our beliefs and the pastor is easy to follow. We are hoping to get plugged into a small group soon as that will allow us to meet more people and offer more opportunities for fellowship. We ended up spending most of the day in a nearby city doing some shopping. I plan on doing a home tour  so check back soon! 

Embracing Change

Hi guys! I can't believe its been over a month since my last post and let me tell you, life has been busy! In the last few weeks, we packed up our home in Nevada, said goodbye to dear friends (and sunny weather), and have relocated to the Pacific North West! It has been a whirlwind to say the least. We are slowly getting unpacked and settling into our new surroundings. We have had the opportunity to visit my family twice since our move and it makes my heart happy :). Here are a few pics from the last month or so. 

The ladies from our bible study group at our going away dinner. 

A few of the guys from our bible study being goofy. 

Blanco snoozing during our travels. Life is hard eh?

My sister-in-law and I on her birthday. 

 

 

Our view during lunch. Not too shabby! #PNWliving

We have some fun things on the agenda for this weekend. Tomorrow we are meeting up with another couple for a wine and chocolate tour! Two of my favorite things! Ha! On Sunday, we are planning to visit a new church and then hoping to score big on holiday sales :). I have a few areas and rooms that still need a little somethin somethin to get the completed look. 

I am hoping to get some sort of routine established, especially before my husband goes back to work. I will be sure to let ya'll know how that works out! 

ONE LAST HOORAH

Our time in Nevada is quickly coming to an end. I remember finding out that we were moving here and shed many of tears. I had my heart set on moving to Washington state. I wanted to be back in my home, close to family and in familiar territory. However, God's plans are better than mine and our time here has been a blessing. We have met some wonderful people who I can honestly say, will be lifelong friends. 

This past holiday weekend, we rented a cabin up in Lake Tahoe, along with two other couples, and spent the weekend talking, laughing, eating and relaxing. It was a much needed mini vacation after the holiday madness and before our upcoming move. Here are some scenes from the weekend. 

The guys began their morning with a bible study. 

This is one competitive group when it comes to board games. 

Baby Lynden started crawling this weekend!

There was a hill behind our cabin which was perfect for sledding. 

I will miss these ladies very much :(

There was no shortage of good food!

It was our first time in Tahoe during the winter and although not a fan of snow, I appreciated the beauty surrounding us. It also made our cabin much more cozy :)

Goals for 2016

It's a new year. A clean slate. A fresh start. I love a new beginning and although you can always start something new, I especially like to look at the year ahead and what I would like to accomplish. 2016 will bring a lot of change for my little family. We will be saying goodbye to a place that has been home for close to 3 years, a wonderful church family and other great people we have met during our time in Nevada. It will be bittersweet…

With that being said, we are ready to make the move back into the home we purchased several years ago. We will be closer to my side of the family and we will get to make new memories in a new place, that although is not technically new to us, quite a bit has changed. 

When I took the time to think about what I would like to accomplish in 2016, I wanted it to be more than just the typical cliche goals for a new year. I wanted to set goals that I will take the time to pray about. Because in all honesty, I can set all the goals I want but if it's not God's will, they may not come to fruition. And that's ok because His plans are better than mine :)

I have different areas of my life I would like to work on so breaking them up into categories made sense. 

Faith

- Be intentional about prayer and reading my bible. 

- Find a church in WA where we will continue to grow spiritually. 

- Trust the Lord in all areas of my life and be content in every circumstance.

Family 

- Be intentional about calling those that I love more often. I am more of a texter than a phone person but not everyone is like me! 

- Be the wife that Christ calls me to be. I want to nurture my marriage and make my home a sanctuary. 

- Send more snail mail. 

Professional

- Find a job that I truly enjoy. 

- Complete a graduate certificate that I began last year. 

Personal 

- Find a hobby. 

- Work on my fitness/health.

- Improve my Spanish skills considering Spanish is my native language.

Commit your work to the Lord,
    and your plans will be established. Proverbs 16:3

A Year in Review

How can it be that 2015 has come and gone?!?!? I guess time flies by when you're having fun! 2015 was a good year overall. Here's a little recap of what my year looked like so prepare for picture overload!

January

This month, we took advantage of the holiday weekend and took a trip with friends to Napa and San Francisco. We went wine tasting in Napa, ate our fair share of delicious meals and toured San Francisco.  We had the best time!

February

We celebrated Baby Lynden's impending arrival with a Valentines Day themed baby shower! 

We also celebrated the hubby's 33rd birthday but I don't seem to have any pictures for the occasion :(

March

I don't remember much of what happened this month. Sorry!

April

I took a totally last minute trip to Las Vegas. Mr. Davis was there for work so I flew in and spent the weekend with him. We slept in, had room service, saw a legit awesome show, enjoyed fine dining and overall just had a wonderful, romantical time! Haha! 

We celebrated Easter in SC with my husbands side of the family. There is never a shortage of good southern food in this family. 

May

In May we headed to WA state to help host a baby shower for my little sister. It also happened to fall on my birthday, so I guess you can say that we celebrated three people that day :)

Spent quality time with this little girl! 

June

My nephew Caleb made his arrival this month! He is the sweetest :) We also started our summer supper club this month with friends and that was a highlight of our summer.  We shared several  meals and fellowship. They have been a blessing to us while living in Nevada and its never a dull moment with these folks. 

July

We celebrated the 4th of July with my husband's coworkers and their families, enjoyed desert sunsets, bonfires and date nights. 

August

In August, we headed up to WA to see my side of the family and meet our nephew Caleb and spend time with family. 

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September 

I am so thankful for the women God has brought into my life while living in Nevada that I decided to celebrate our friendship with a "Happy Fall Ya'll" dinner!

October 

October was both the happiest and saddest month in 2015. Maybe one day I will discuss here on the blog. Despite the sadness, we had family come to visit so that gave us something to look forward to. 

November

I left my job toward the end of November. It was bittersweet but I wanted to have time to prepare for our impending move and enjoy the holiday season. Living away from family means we don't always get to celebrate the holidays together. So this year, we decided to have a "Friendsgiving". And let me tell you, my friends can cook! Everything was absolutely delicious! 

December

This month was a busy one for us.  I headed to Las Vegas at the beginning of the month, and then spent the last two weeks of 2015 in South Carolina for a Christmas and New Years with the Davis clan. We celebrated Ms. Paden's 3rd birthday, we got to meet our new niece Harper, ate a lot of cookies, laughed a lot and had plenty of relaxation and family time. 

Phew that was a long one but will be fun to look back at in the future. I am looking forward to what God has in store for us in 2016 and I will talk more about goals in my next post! Hopefully it doesn't take me a month to write it :)