Planning Underway

Since I became pregnant many people have expressed particular interest in the nursery, saying they can't wait to see what I do with it. After all, much is to be expected from an Interior Designer and muralist. I felt pressure, even though I knew the source of most of it was from me and not from others, so for a while I refused to give it much thought.

Now I am more inspired and motivated, and truly excited about the project ahead. I have decided on a theme, one that I had in mind from the beginning, and that is "A Tale of Peter Rabbit - by Beatrix Potter." The story, among the other tales by Beatrix Potter, was a favorite of mine from my early childhood. My mom still has my old books, figurines, and even the plate/cereal bowl/mug set that I used. It will be neat to pass those keepsakes on to our child.

The image above is the source of inspiration for the mural I will paint on the wall. It may not be that exact scene from the story, but something similar. The image below shows the fabric samples that I will incorporate into the bedding and other accessories in the room, such as the window seat, pillows, quilt, window treatments, etc. Now that I have some fabrics to coordinate with the colors in the mural scene I am even more excited.

Dinner with Family

Kimberly and Madison came to visit us for a few days while Mark is overseas for business, so we decided to have the Daniels over for dinner so we could all visit.

Aunt Celia, Madison, Kimberly and Kyle
Meagan, Lauren, and Uncle Dennis

We're Expecting!

We are very excited to announce that we are expecting a baby! Here is a picture of our first ultrasound taken at 10 weeks. We saw and heard the heartbeat, and the doctor said everything looks good. We are so thankful for this great news and will post more updates later. The due date is September 11.

Dressed Up for Valentine's Day

The dogs are showing off their cute bandannas they got for Valentine's Day. Kyle said they don't like pink, but I think they do.

Something tells me the dogs were tired of posing for pictures by this point. Just look at the expression on Abbie's face (on the left).

The Mischievous Duo

Although Acie and Abbie are a year old now, they are definitely still acting like puppies. A couple of months ago, Acie and Abbie began pulling their dog bed out into the garage when our cars were gone, and used the area to tear open the bed and spread the stuffing everywhere. We never caught them in the act, but we know they were both guilty. They expressed such remorse each time they had to watch the clean-up from inside their kennels, but did it again and again. Eventually we had to replace that bed with a new one, but only after making the dogs go a while without one, hoping that when they got a new bed they might appreciate it enough not to tear it up. Unfortunately they aren't that smart.

When we were both gone one day recently, boredom overtook Acie and Abbie. They dragged the new bed out of the garage into the backyard, tore it open, and spread its contents all over the yard. What a mess!

Another Cruise!

We recently returned from our second cruise (yes, we went on two cruises within a month of each other). This time it was with a group of friends. We sailed on the Carnival Ecstasy from Galveston to Cozumel and Progreso on a 5 day trip. There were four couples in all.

Here is our group. Clockwise from Kyle and Melanie are Allison and Bryant, Joshua and Tyler, Kassy and Richard.

COZUMEL

Our first port was Cozumel, where we took a taxi to the nearby Paradise Beach. There were lots of activities to enjoy, like snorkeling, kayaking, floating trampolines, etc.

After spending the day at the beach, we all went to a restaurant for lunch.

PROGRESO
The second port of call was Progreso. Kyle and Melanie took an excursion to Chichen Itza (ancient Mayan ruins), which was recently voted one of the new 7 Wonders of the World.

The beautiful sunset shortly after we set sail from Progreso.
Dinner on the last night.

Highlights of 2007

As we look back at 2007, which was our first calendar year of marriage, we are grateful for all that we experienced together. The year was filled with change and many blessings.

Although the year was full of wonderful memories, we got off to a rough start. Today marks one year since we said goodbye to our dear dog, Brandy, whom we loved so much. Her passing very difficult for us, but we were hoping the year would only get better from there - and it did.

As the end of Kyle's residency quickly approached, we started exploring job opportunities all over Texas. Our prayers were answered, as we felt strongly lead to a great opportunity that was given to Kyle in Georgetown. We then began our real estate search and found a great home to call our own.

In the months before the move, we were very busy. First, we adopted two new puppies to fill the void left when Brandy died. Now over a year old, they have been a fun addition to the family. We also celebrated our 1st wedding anniversary. Then Kyle graduated from residency and Melanie resigned from O'Neill Hill. Lastly, Kyle took his written board exam - and passed with flying colors!

Our lives have changed dramatically over the past year, and we look forward to what 2008 has in store for us.

Just days after we moved, we had friends come stay with us, which was only the beginning of the company we would have before year's end. We really enjoyed hosting all the visitors we have had over the past several months, and appreciate the love and support from friends and family who have come to Georgetown. Unfortunately we were not always good about taking pictures when people came, but wanted to share the pictures we have.

Andrew, Pam, and Ava Penner were the first to come. They brought their new boat so we spent some time at Lake Travis.

Aaron, Stephanie, and Caleb Greene came for a weekend. Here we are at the Inner Space Caverns.

Melanie's aunt Celia and cousin Nick passed passed through to visit and have dinner with us one night.

Melanie's friends from college came to spend the night before heading to Mustang Island for a girls' weekend at the beach.

Jeremy and Ana Good visited for a weekend. Here we are at Iguana Grill.

Melanie's parents and brother have come twice to visit. Here we all are the day after Thanksgiving.

Mark, Kimberly, and Madison spent a weekend with us in December.

Kolby, Lindsay, and Shane stayed with us for a few days in December. We enjoyed getting to meet our nephew for the first time.