Did I Mention...

...that we have adopted a French Bulldog?! He will be coming home on May 13th. Can hardly wait!

...that I passed my certification content test? I am now eligible for hire! Yay. Praise the Lord. 

Happy Saturday! 

First Time for Everything

Trying new things is good for you, and tonight I watched the NFL Draft for the first time. Why you ask? Well, Von Miller Texas A&M defensive player was supposed to be picked within the top ten. He was, No.2. Very exciting. It was so precious. He was crying and couldn't have been more endearing. I am now super pumped about Aggie football 2011. C'mon September. To quench my thirst for the meanwhile I watched this video:



and this one:

Viva Fiesta!

What a weekend we had (on April 15th & 16th)! Fiesta, the part we experienced, was AWESOME. A Night in Old San Antonio (NIOSA) was Friday night, and it was basically centered around food & drink. Being the 'foodies' (more Joe than me) we are, we greatly enjoyed it. Saturday the King William Fair took over our neighborhood. After about 4:00 Friday evening there was no getting out or into our apartment complex. By car anyway. The fair was literally outside our front door and we had free admission because we are a part of the King William Association. Woohoo! It was as flamboyant as you would expect of our neighborhood and we loved being a part of it. You will have to experience it for yourself next year. The pictures are all out of order, so forgive my captions. 

Bacon wrapped hot dog at KWF, yes please.

 NIOSA

 KWF- I made J pose in front the Guenther House/Pioneer Flour Mill. 

 NIOSA- Reality

 NIOSA

 KWF

 KWF- Just one of the awesome homes in our neighborhood. 

Italian Ice- KWF

 Walking home from NIOSA

NIOSA 

 Cascarones (confetti filled eggs) at NIOSA.

KWF parade. 

 KWF- more food.

 Deep fried bacon, I had to try it. KWF

 WONDERFUL fried okra. NIOSA

 Our closest friends at NIOSA. 

Both events were definitely worth the crowd. We are already looking forward to next year and hope to experience even ore of Fiesta. There is nothing like it. 

Easter Weekend

 Joe and I had a very nice, BUSY, Easter weekend home in Houston. We saw good friends, celebrated Oksana, and worshiped with family.  Here is our weekend in pictures:

I was quite congested and looked like this most of the time.

The birthday girl herself!

 My dog cousin, Buro 

Easter Sunday! My poor dad had a stomach flu :(

I have a bit of exciting news to share (no, not that exciting of news) but I will in a later post. I hope your own Easter weekend was wonderful!

He is not here!

"On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, 'Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee.' 'The son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.' "

Luke 24:1-7

He is Risen!

Good Friday

"The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. The clothed him in a purple robe and went up to him again and again, saying 'Hail, king of the Jews!' and they struck him in the face."

John 19:2,3

"Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified."

Mark 15:15

"When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified Him, along with the criminals-- one on the right, the other on his left. Jesus said, 'Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.'...Jesus called out with a loud voice, 'Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.' When He said this, he breathed his last."

Luke 23:33-34,46

"At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks spolit. The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people. When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened they were terrified, and exclaimed, 'Surely he was the Son of God'."

Matthew 27:51-54

For you & me.

Maundy Thursday

"The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already promoted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew hat the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come fro God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him." John 13: 2-5

What a beautiful and humbling experience this must have been for the disciples. Of course they do not know the events that are about to occur, and I'm sure this event became even more meaningful after Friday was over. 

"Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is great that his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him." John 13: 14-16

As I ponder on the meaning and significance of the next four days, I feel that I am experiencing the same humbleness the first disciples felt. God has granted me that opportunity to serve Him on the mission field numerous times, from Honduras to Eastern Europe. I am so humbled by this. I know I would be such a different woman if I had not had these experiences. This being said, I have been experiencing a brand new mission field the past three months at the school where I sub. I can't say that I go into work and have the attitude of "washing feet". I pray that God would transform my heart. 

Last Sunday at church they ended the service with the song "In Christ Alone". It is beautifully written and composed. I'm not sure why, but as I was singing it I just kept thinking about my grandma being in the presence of the Christ I was singing about. Needless to say, I began to cry. I wonder if they have and extra big party in heaven on Easter weekend. I guess we'll find out. 

Sweet 16!

Today is my dear cousin's, Oksana, sixteenth birthday. I can't believe it! I don't know where the time has gone. The fact that Oksana is a part of our family is a miracle.

Oksana was born on April 20, 1995 in  L'viv, Ukraine. Four years later my Uncle Bill and cousin Peter went on a mission trip there and ministered to a local orphanage in L'viv. They say it happened like this: (I may not have the exact details right, but pretty close) While at the orphanage a little, round, four year  old girl walked up to my uncle and reached up to be held. It was Oksana. I don't think my uncle had much of a chance after that. I wish I had the picture of the two of them on that day to show you, it is precious. After Bill and Peter returned neither of them could get L'viv, Ukraine out of their minds. My uncle was feeling led to adopt Oksana, and Peter was feeling the Lord's calling to serve in L'viv for an extended amount of time. I'm not sure when Peter decided to go to L'viv for that fall semester, but I do know the gist of how the Lord called my aunt to Oksana. It was a few days (maybe weeks) after my uncle had returned to the states. I believe he had not said anything about adopting Oksana to my aunt, (this could be wrong) but while at the mission trip reflection night at church the picture of Oksana and Bill appeared in the slide show. After the evening was over my aunt asked my uncle if he thought they should adopt her, and this began the year long process of adoption. On July 18, 2000 Oksana became Oksana Murrell and a part of our family. We have never been the same since.

To say Oksana is a blessing in my life would be an enormous understatement. She is so dear to my heart, and I don't think I have ever loved someone so unconditionally. We are very close and I consider her more of a sister than a cousin. I am so thankful for my aunt and uncle's obedience. I have watched her become a young lady, and rejoice in what the Lord has done in her life. Whenever I hear or read this verse I think of her:

"The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing."

Zephaniah 3:17

Happy Birthday, my dear Oksana! I can't wait to celebrate with you this weekend. Joe and I love you so very much!

Happy 100th!

It's my 100th post! Yahoo. I have been thinking of blog topics, pictures to share, etc. I thought about lists of various 100 things, life in 100 words, and so on to celebrate or commemorate my 100th blog post. So I will do a little of each. 100 is a too big of a number, it's a bit overwhelming so I will stick with 10.

• 1 word to describe the past 99 posts:

Journey

It has been a journey since I began blogging. Not really because of the blog, but blogging has been a way to document the journey of our first and second years of marriage.

• 2 Pictures:

Managed to not make the cut. We went to a Spurs game, and I never blogged about. What?!?! It was awesome. We are officially fans, and the At&t Center is way cheaper (parking, food, beverages) than any Houston arena I have ever been to. 

• 3 Addresses:

614 Holleman Dr. East #211 College Station, Texas

302 Ball Street Apt. L101 College Station, Texas

San Antonio, Texas

We have moved 3, count them 3, times since we started blogging. Whew! 

• 4 Weeks:

Long-Distance Marriage

Joe was in Alexandria, VA for four weeks. The word agonizing comes to mind. 

• 5 'Vacations':

Dallas

Colorado

Michigan 

Oklahoma

Washington D.C. 

I use the term vacation very loosely. We traveled to these places anyway. 

• 6 Favorite Things:

http://jeweinberger.blogspot.com/2011/02/my-favorite-things.html

• 7 Days:

With my awesome sister! 

• 8 Blog posts:

http://jeweinberger.blogspot.com/2010_12_01_archive.html

I blogged 8 times in the month of December (2010).

• 9 Facebook Photo Albums:

I have uploaded 9 photo albums since blogging. 

• 10 Youtube Videos:

I will rise Chris Tomlin

Day after day Kristian Stanfill

There's a Spirit by Aggieland Athletics 

O Magnum Mysterium by M. Lauridsen 

He's Always Been Faithful by Sara Groves

It's beginning to Look a lot like Christmas Johnny Mathis

That's When I Love You by Aslyn 

Do You Know what it Means to Miss New Orleans Louis Armstrong 

Summer Nights from Grease

Better Together by Jack Johnson 

All of these have made an appearance on our blog.

Blogging has been a great experience so far. It has been an outlet for several emotions, a way to share with family and friends, and a healthy (non-fattening) addiction. Thanks for reading (don't stop) and tell your friends! ;)

Life Lately

Hasn't been that exciting. We've been getting used to Joe's new schedule, watching LOTS of Mad Men, baking, and of course taking pictures.  This past weekend picked things up a bit. Joe's Aunt Karen and Uncle John were in town, I started my Texas Teachers sessions, and we had lunch with Joe's boss' family (I will be baby-sitting their little girl for the summer).  We had tons of fun with Karen and John. I was so bummed I missed spending Saturday with them. My session was actually very informative and helpful, and I'm kinda looking forward to the one on Wednesday evening.  We are SUPER excited about next weekend, it's The King William Fair. I've heard it's very festive and has great food! Yay! 

Bella likes to watch Mad Men with us. This is her favorite spot. 

Of course I have been baking. Last week I wasn't feeling like doing anything exotic so Joe's favorite chocolate chip cookies it was. 

THE AGGIE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM WON THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP. It was awesome. I might have cried. 

While  was in my session on Saturday Joe, Karen, & John enjoyed a visit to the Art Museum. 

I got home early and got to enjoy a bottle of Prosecco with everyone before we went to dinner at The Cove . Very good. I'm sure we will be taking you there when you come visit. 

It is rumored that my husband can't sleep underneath both a sheet and a comforter, this is proof. I was so proud of him. ;)

It's Fiesta here in San Antonio, and although we haven't really gotten to experience it yet I at least got to enjoy a Fiesta cupcake from Central Market. 

Life or rather God is good. I'm working this week and I'm still really enjoying it.  I'm getting ready to start putting out applications, resumes, portfolios etc. Please pray for me as I begin the process of a job search.