Summer is here.

Summer is here.. and it is hot!!

I have been unable to blog because we did not have internet for 2 weeks. Wow. That seemed like a lifetime. We have it now so I would like to do a little update.

Joanna and Tim got married the last Saturday in May. It was a beautiful perfect Southern Living type wedding outside at Tim's parents house near Batesville. Beth and I were the guestbook attendants and we had so much fun. They had dancing too. I really love fun dancing at a wedding...



We moved on Memorial Day with the help of our wonderful parents who have helped us moved something like 10 or 15 times now if you count the times we moved back and forth to college.

Then I started back to school. Summer school is rough because we have at least 2 hour lectures at a time, several a day. We actually go to school more I think. I am very excited about this August because I start clinicals. I will be the clinic from August-October at a pediatric clinic in Conway!! :) Then I will be in the classroom November-December. Then I will be in the clinic from January-August 2011 with 2 days off in May. And THEN.. I will graduate!!!!!!!! I should know within the month of July where all of my Jan-Aug '11 clinicals are. I am a little bit anxious about that..

Our church hosted a women's retreat June 11-12. It was a wonderful time. I was able to locate a guest speaker who has a passion for women's ministry and she was such a blessing to our retreat. We had such a relaxing and re-energizing time. We are trying to start a monthly study group and I am looking forward to that.

Last weekend Dane and I went home to take a family photo because his grandparents just celebrated their 50th Anniversary. We took some pictures at Lyon College and I am excited to see them. We also celebrated Father's Day with my dad and grandpa at my grandparents house. Gran has some beautiful flowers blooming right now and we enjoyed seeing them. Then on Saturday we went to the lake with my aunt Julie and my cousin Sam. We had a great time! I love love love to ride in a boat all day.



In further more exciting news... next week my family is taking a family vacation to Destin! ...assuming the oil is still not there. If it does get there, we are probably going to go someplace more local. Anywhere would be fine. I am just looking forward to spending time together.

Congratulations Chris and Susan!!

Well... now that's its FBO....

Chris and Susan are going to have a baby!! We are beyond thrilled. I think we both teared up when we got the phone call. They are going to be the best parents. AHHHHHHH. It's hard to express this type of excitement!!

I will give you a little background on how we know them. Dane met Chris his first year of college in good old Baridon Hall. He met Susan shortly after when she cooked for Chris and his new friends. He said that she was so sweet and that I would love her. Well, he was right. She has been such a great friend to me. She makes me laugh and she loves life. She is one of the most dependable people I know. She will be a glowing mother. She has wanted to be a mom for as long as I've known her. I really don't remember not knowing this couple. I am so thankful that God placed them in our lives. Here are a few photos of our friendship.

Birthday dinner several years ago.

This was right before Chris left for Honduras for 9 months after their college graduation.

This was right before I became a married woman. Susan was so sweet to me.
I adore this picture.

Chris and Susan on their wedding day. Such a fun and beautiful day.

All smiles.

A recent photo with Susan, Mallory, and Merritt at Michelangelo's.

And now all we need is some precious pictures of the two of them holding their newborn baby. The next several months are going to be so exciting!!

Chris and Susan, we love you both so much and are praying for you and your child. We cannot wait to meet him/her!

Apartment Hunting Nashville Style...

On Sunday, my family headed to Nashville to find Beth an apartment near Vanderbilt where she will be attending graduate school. I love Nashville so I was excited to take the trip. Dane couldn't go because we had to miss church and Monday and Tuesday. Before we left, Beth and I had Mazzios lunch with Gran and our aunt Julie. We love Mazzios buffet. Julie works in Batesville so its easy for her and Gran drove from her house. It was great to see them! :)


Sunday morning we headed out at 7am. Beth had done a fantastic job of planning the apartments that we went to see - 15 in all!! She knew every address and who was showing us the property. I was tired just listening to her. The best thing about the hunt was that I know exactly where everything near Vanderbilt is located. Well... at least a lot of things.

We stayed at the Hotel Indigo which was had a very modern and classy style.

Beth and I beside the building where she will spend most of her time.

Department of Political Science!! I was glad to see it.

Eating downtown Monday night.

Beth and mom near some beautiful bushes. The campus is gorgeous and overflowing with trees, flowers, and squirrels. Mom dropped a skittle and a squirrel ran up and ate it with his hands. It was crazy.

Macy's - yes, please.

Dad showing a little support for the Hogs in rival SEC territory. :)

The most important part - WE FOUND AN APARTMENT! I was very happy for Beth who will have a great place to live starting in August.

Nashville was fun and I look forward to visiting there many more times.

Razorbacks at Dickey-Stephens Park

One of our very favorite things to do in Little Rock is to watch the Travelers play at Dickey-Stephens Park. Last night the Razorbacks came to LR for a little C-Ark action. Dane and I bought tickets late (as in a month ago) and had to sit in the grass. Casey McCrotty was there and she told me that they bought their tickets in December. opps. It was a really fun game. The Razorbacks won in the 10th inning. I ate a box of popcorn and drank a Sprite. What more can a girl want?



The place was PACKED. When we got there we had to walk all the way around to find a spot on the grass. It was different than a Travs game, because for those games we always sit in the seats and pretty much kick back. And we all know razorback fans don't do much kicking back. .... Dane included.


Notice how packed the grass was. We had a bunch of kids around us who were pretty entertaining.

After the win there was a great fireworks display. It was getting pretty late and I heard about 5 people say, "there are going to be a lot of cranky kids at school tomorrow." ha. Fortunately, I did not have school today so I slept in. :)

I did manage to attempt a run this morning. Unfortunately the humidity was not working in my favor. I am going to have to start running after dark with Dane again. It works much better that way anyway.

Now for a little update on Nicki and Laura! Laura reported that they saw 65 patients in group sessions the first day and 45 patients individually the second day! WOW. 45 patients. A typical hospital patient load would be much less. I am so proud of these girls. These patients would have no rehab this month if they were not there. Early amputee care is so important. I am praying and cheering for them. Please continue to remember them in your prayers as well!

Graduation Festivities Day 2

Graduation was a huge success. A giant celebration really. In fact, I've been celebrating for 3 days now!

And here is a little run down of the day.

At 8:30 I arrived at Beth's room and took a few pictures of her and Amber. Then drove them to the Farris Center at 9:00 am. Graduation was at 10:00 so I went home for a few minutes and picked up my grandparents who were waiting for me at my house. Graduation went by very smoothly and lasted about an hour and a half. Then I said goodbye to my grandparents. It was so great to see them. We really had a great time together. They are both battling colds so they were real troopers this weekend. I love them both very much. Here are a few pictures of Beth's graduation.

Beth and Amber in Farris Hall.

In their caps and gowns.

Beth with Gran and Poppy (Bob and Dee Webb)

Beth with our parents (James and Sabra Estes)

Beth and I

Beth and her diploma :)

After the graduation we helped Beth carry out the few remaining items in her room. Then we (my parents, Beth, and I) headed out to Logan's Roadhouse for a little lunch celebration. Dad had a free appetizer coupon so it was a win-win (gotta love Covey... the author of a book we're required to read in PT school, "7 Habits of Highly Effective People"). Anyways, we had a great time and then ran into Target before they headed home.

Congratulations to my dear sister Beth. I love you so much and I will always cherish the times we shared here at UCA. I really can't imagine what our lives would have been like if you had gone to another undergrad. I'm very grateful that you were here. You are an amazing sister (and friend) and you inspire me every day. I love you. I already miss you.

After my family left, I ran home to meet up with Dane (who couldn't attend Beth's graduation because he had class this morning) and we went to Corey's graduation. It was also a great time and Dane's parents, grandparents (Mert and Vaughn and Sherra and Tony), aunt and uncle (Jody and Richard), aunt (Nancy), and cousin (Kyle - who graduated from Lyon today!) were all there. Here are some pictures from his graduation.

Corey and Dane

Corey and his diploma

Corey with Reid and Angie

After Corey's graduation we went to Gyro's. We had a big group, but a lot of laughs. Some people in the group love greek food and others tried it for the first time. I was glad we got to spend the extra time together. Oh and Vaughn gave me some of his brownie desert that was delicious! Corey and Dane love that place. I know Dane will miss Corey whenever he passes it by.

Congratulations Corey! I am so proud of you. I am lucky to have you as my brother-in-law.

This has been a wonderful weekend. I have really enjoyed the time that I've spent with my family and my other family. :) Both families are such a blessing to me and Dane. We love you all.




On a separate note. I have a special prayer request. Two of my dear friends and classmates Nicki and Laura are traveling to Haiti tomorrow to work during our May break with an organization that provides physical therapy for disaster victims. In Haiti the primary focus is on amputee patients and the wound care/rehab/assistive device needs that these patients have. Another friend in my class Allison left for Haiti last week (with another organization). Allison was a peace corps worker for 2 years and speaks fluent Creole. Laura and Nicki do not. Please pray for all 3 girls for safe travel and that they would use their skills to change the lives of many earthquake victims in Haiti. As you can imagine the equipment and facilities are minimal. The girls are sleeping in a tent and providing rehab with whatever they can. Here is a picture of Nicki and Laura. I am so proud of you girls!!

Graduation Festivities Day 1

The graduation festivities officially began today. Beth and I actually started celebrating last night with a little farewell dinner at Old Chicago with Beth's friend (my friend too!) Amber. Beth loves Old Chicago and I do too. We thought it would be a great way to enjoy one last meal together while Beth actually lives in Conway, even though she plans to come stay with me a few times during the summer.

Then we drove back to Farris and I took a photo of the two of them in front of the building. I have lots of great memories in that building and I know they do too. Sometimes when I drive up at night I have a flood of memories that brings tears to my eyes. Happy tears.


After dropping them off, I drove home and began preparing for today. Today was a big day! I like big days.

Corey presented his thesis at 9:40 entitled "The Last Summer." It's actually a movie that he had already premiered (and presented at the Conway Film Festival!). At his presentation today he discussed the writers and cinematographers that he gets his inspiration from and some of the technical and development aspects of the film. Wow. There is a tremendous amount of thought and work that goes into movies. I felt overwhelmed at the end of the presentation and realized that I simply do not have the ability to focus that it must take to make a movie. Props to Corey. Here is a photo of Corey, Dane and their wonderful parents Reid and Angie. I really couldn't ask for better in-laws. They are such sweet people.

Beth presented her thesis at 10:40 entitled "Overcoming Obstacles: Prospects for Further Military Integration in the EU." She did a fantastic job. I didn't realize that there was so much that I don't know about the EU.. or NATO...or the UN for that matter. I watch the news sometimes.. Anyways. She was great. Very knowledgeable, and very passionate. I am proud of her. She is brilliant really. And I'm not biased. Here is a picture of her taking questions and one with Donna from the Honors College. Donna is the Associate Director and a vital part of the Honors College and it was great to see her!

































After the presentations, Beth and Corey and our families attended the Honors Banquet. I heard that it was a huge sucess. Corey was one of the graduating speakers and he apparently did a great job. Here are a few photos from the event.

Beth and our parents.


Beth and her friend Elizabeth.


Beth and Amber with their friend Brian.


After the banquet we had a small party at my house to celebrate! Thanks to Susan for a wonderful spinach dip recipe!!

First post..

I am a blogger at heart. I absolutely love reading blogs. This is an exciting day for me.

I've been waiting to start my blog with a momentous occasion in my life. This weekend will be just that. My sister Beth and my brother-in-law Corey are both graduating from UCA and moving away. I am so proud of them both, but I will miss them so much. It's weird to think that my sweet sister will be living at home and then living in another town so very soon. And the same for my brother-in-law who has been the perfect in-law. Friday they will present their thesis presentations and Saturday we will celebrate graduation. I am trying to keep the tears to a minimum. I went to buy a graduation present today and felt so very nostalgic. I know we will always be super close, but I really can't imagine the next stage of my life, their lives.

On another note, I finished my last final today. I have 3 weeks off in May, then summer courses. Technically I only have to take finals two more times in my life!! Hallelujah. :)

Here is a picture of my Gran, Beth and me last weekend.


Don't worry, there is much more to come..