God Must Have a Sense of Humor...

I'm not sure if it's true or not, but Grandma says this kind of stuff only happens to me! Here's what happened...
It was a rare occasion the other day that I came home from work and Ryan wasn't home yet. I had about 2 hours until I had to leave to meet him up at church, so I decided to do something that he doesn't really enjoy doing-I went for a walk! Yes, it was over 100 degrees outside and for some reason, I felt like being a sweltering idiot that afternoon. So I put on my sunscreen and hat, got my nalgene bottle all full of ice water, and headed out the door with my phone in hand-just in case since Ryan wasn't home. It was really hot, so I was taking it a little slower than normal but I was actually really enjoying myself! So I start out in the hot and direct sun and expected it to be that way the whole time-afterall, it's mid june and the forecast didn't have a cloud in the sky! I got about 1/4 of the way through my walk when I noticed that it wasn't as sunny...odd, right? Sure enough, there's a cloud overhead! It was kinda creepy-it was the only cloud I could see in the sky and was always right over my head as I walked...it was moving with me. Oh well, I enjoyed the shade! Then, strangely and unpredictably, it barely starts to sprinkle...hahaha God, that's cute. I chuckled to myself when I thought about the absurdity of what was happening and kept going. The forecast didn't have any clouds in it, nonetheless a chance for rain, so how bad could this really get? It was not worth cutting my walk that short...I'd only been out for about 15 minutes. When I got to about 1/2 mile away on the other side of the apartment complex, the clouds opened up and it started just pouring! I tell you, I could not find a tree quick enough! It was totally out of nowhere! Again, how bad can this get and how long would it really last? So, I park myself under the tree and continue listening to my music...enjoying my unexpected rest. I even tried to take a few pictures to show just how bad it was because it was by no means just sprinkling anymore! Anyone who knows me well would tell you that I would walk home in some light rain any day of the week, but it was POURING! I called Ryan, who was out on the golf course, and he said that he could see my cloud, haha! After 30 minutes of this crap, I decided to just suck it up and run as fast as I could the 1/2 mile home. I tried to hide my iPhone as best I could from the rain, and booked it home! My hat was dripping rain in my face the whole time and my shoes were sloshing about the whole way...there was no hope of only getting "a little" wet-I was totally drenched and dripping from head to toe. I was sure that even my phone and headphones were toast because there simply wasn't a dry spot on me and that run was just too long. When I got home, I could wring out all of my clothes and had to put my shoes and hat out on the patio to dry...even my hair was just dripping wet. I dried off, changed, and tried to save my poor phone and headphones that I seriously thought were dead. As it turns out, yes, this was like the only THUNDERSTORM that popped up that day! The thunder and lightening actually scared Maverick and the temperature dipped into the 60's for a few minutes! By the time I got myself taken care of and called Kelly to tell her about my story, it was time to head out to church. When I stepped out the door, it was back to 100 degrees and sunny...everything had passed. Again, that's really cute, God. He must have a sense of humor...oh well, I got a laugh out of it all and have a story to share, so I had fun!

Your Random "Lauren" Story For The Week!

Ok, so here recently I discovered that I was in desperate need of a new toothbrush...simple enough right? Simple solution-go get a new toothbrush! Well, apparently I have been living with the Flintstones in the stone age. Last time I had to purchase a toothbrush, there were very few (and simple) options...hard or soft bristles, what color, and which brand you preferred. Some of the fancy ones had little blue bristles mixed in with the white, but I've personally never found a real use for them...just fun I guess. This time, I swear I spent 30 minutes looking at the HUGE selection of stinkin' toothbrushes! I thought Ryan was going to kill me! Yes, there were many different colors (no longer just blue versus pink...that would be too easy!), but now you could choose from hard, MEDIUM, or soft bristles, there were all sorts of shapes and sizes...and once I found one that I liked, it didn't come in a color I liked! Then there were ones with "brightening stars"...what? Some had bristles pointing every which way and bristles of all sizes that apparently perform different functions. And that was just the manual toothbrushes! Then there's the world of battery-operated toothbrushes...and that's a whole other blog in itself. I've never felt so dumb-founded...all I wanted was a stick with little bristles on the end so I can clean my danged teeth, why must this be such a difficult decision? Next time I think I will treat it like "pin the tail on the donkey" and have Ryan spin me around in circles and see which toothbrush I manage to rip off the racks...THEY'LL ALL CLEAN TEETH! That was a very unnecessarily long trip to the store...

Our New Church

When we moved back to DFW, we made it a priority to find a home church where we could really put down some roots and be involved. Surprisingly enough, Google maps led us to Crown of Life in Colleyville and we've been there ever since. I say surprisingly enough because it was the first church that we visited once we moved back and it isn't close, so we're not really sure what prompted Google maps to pull it up first. One way or another, we're extremely happy that we found it! We officially joined the church on May 17, 2009. They had a wonderful orientation class where we met some very nice people and it helped us get connected. We joined a small devotional group and are going to a class on Wednesdays where we have met even more great people! On top of all that, Ryan volunteered for the basketball camp and vacation bible school. I will probably start helping in the nursery or helping with large events here soon. We couldn't be happier and feel so very blessed.

Here is a picture on the day we joined the church with Pastor Dave and his wife Ann.



And here is a pic from the basketball camp this past week. Look at Coach Ryan, isn't he so cute!!

More Pictures!

We celebrated the anniversary of Aimee's adoption this April! Mom, Dad, Aimee, Ryan, and Cheryl took the day off and went to the zoo. Lee and I were stuck at work...boo! Here are some pics from their day of fun!

Ryan was behind the camera the whole time, so here are some pictures in his honor!

Picture Time!!

Here are some pictures from Disney on Ice...

Here is Aimee meeting Flounder...

Ryan's very flattering picture of me...

I think this is 1 of 3 pictures we've ever managed to get of Cheryl!!

I think Lee may have had the best time out of any of us!

Here's What You've Missed...

Ok, so here's what you have missed since I went on a little blogging hiatus! This is gonna be long, so sit back and relax!

1. I still really enjoy my job in the clinic! I've been grumbling lately because they (management) decided to take us to a hospital-based clinic which means that we have to do about twice as much work and were introduced to a few new computer systems, which anyone knows is not all that fun! It doesn't help that I don't personally see any real value to the employees or the patients and the new computer systems are WAY less efficient/easy to use than our older ones! Surprising, I know. Nonetheless, I still love where I work and what I do.

2. I took the GRE (did decently...but not fantastic) and applied to PA (physician assistant) school! Yay! It's just a waiting game now, so I'd really appreciate your prayers and support until we find out if I get in or not.

3. Ryan was working for Gold's Gym...then he got laid off, BOO! We could kind-of see it coming about 2 weeks out, so we did our very best to prepare mentally and financially. We know this is for a reason that we just can't see right now and truly think it is for the best. In the meantime, he has been working on his golf game (more to come on that...and it's GOOD news!!) and he's also been volunteering through the church. He has certainly been keeping busy between all this and looking for a job!

4. Ryan played in a second Golf Channel Tour tournament and placed 3rd again which I think it royally unfair because he's the only guy whose golf cart broke down and had to carry is 50-pound bag for the whole tournament! The first two guys tied and were only 1 stroke better, so I really think that if he hadn't had to carry that stupid bag, he could have tied or beat them! Then, he registered for a 3rd tournament on this amateur tour, but obviously this is just not for him...the course closed the tournament after he had already played 16 (of 18) holes because they didn't plan very well and had another tournament that was supposed to start at that time. All of the players were completely disqualified after spending their money and a whole day out there, which just bites. After that incident, we dropped the Golf Channel Tour...can you blame us??

5. We celebrated Tom's (Ryan's dad) 60th birthday! He didn't want to do much, so we just went out to eat with the whole family, and all had a great time.

6. GREAT news! We got a good rate to renew our lease...we don't have to move! Thanks again to all those who helped us move in a year ago...you must be just as happy as we are!

7. Mom, Dad, Lee, Cheryl, Aimee, Ryan, and I all went to Disney on Ice! We had a blast and acted so NOT our ages! It was very good...much better than I expected it to be. The best part is that we got this crazy hat in the shape of Flounder from the Little Mermaid and he is now our own traveling gnome-we're taking him everywhere and taking pictures with him! You can think it's crazy, but we're having fun.

8. Ashley and Belle came to town and were introduced to Don Pablos (one of my favorite restaurants ever!). I also found out that Belle knows how to scream...thanks Ashley. Love ya!

9. I still volunteer at Rocky Top every Saturday and absolutely LOVE it! It's awesome to have that relationship with the kids and to get to see them improve so much every week. It doesn't hurt that I get to play with the horses every weekend, too. We had our volunteer appreciation party and participated in the equestrian events of Special Olympics. I think this is a really good place for me right now and couldn't be happier...it's for such a good cause!

10. A new experience...I am letting my dermatologist (yes, the one that electricuted me, if you'll remember...) use laser treatment to help a place on my cheek. It used to be a beauty mark/mole until I picked it to death. Then it started to bleed every time I washed my face. This is crazy new for me, but it's really helping. Kinda feels like little bitty rubber bands popping (only 3 times) but doesn't quite hurt that bad. The mole gets mad right afterwards and turns a darker color, then turns back to normal color and starts to just disappear! Kinda creepy, but really cool.

11. Our family friends Dani and Tim Robinette celebrated their son's birthday with a party at Alley Cats where we all got to bowl and play games together. One of the kids won a jackpot on one of the games and won an RIDICULOUS amount of tickets! He could barely spend them all! Afterwards, the girls headed to the mall and had a great time while the boys went to an array of random places...place that sells pool tables/hot tubs, wood carving shop, etc...strange boys. It was great to have that time with everyone and we all kinda let loose!

12. Occupational Health at UT lost my entire medical record...that's says good things.

13. I celebrated my one year anniversary at UTSW! Maybe all not in one place, but that's ok!

14. Stan and Natalie had their second baby...Clayton Joe! He was about a month early, but everyone is healthy. Congrats guys!

All right...I think that's about all that you have missed out on. I'll try to get some pics up here soon and I have a few more stories on the way, but you needed to be caught up first! Thanks for reading!!