YL.

The weekend before Christmas we had the pleasure of attending Polar Bear Weekend with our Young Life kids. Andy and I, along with my dear friend Melanie are the senior leaders at Berkner High School. It turned out to be an amazing weekend that transformed the hearts of many high school students. I'll be the first to admit I was not too wild about giving up my weekend, but just as I suspected the Lord blew me away from the second we arrived.

There's just something about spending a weekend together in a secluded camp that breaks down walls more than anything else. No Monday night club or talk at Starbucks could have gotten us to the place we ended up with our girls. We were in an environment that was safe. That lended itself to vulnerability. A place that for the first time we were able to hear our girls hearts and see the pain that overflowed from their tear filled eyes. There is a lot of hurt and sadness that they experience, and they were able to express it freely. Without holding back they shared their stories, frustrations, anxieties. Our prayer is that something that was said that weekend - whether from our mouths or someone elses - peirced their hearts to the point of desiring to know and walk daily with the Lord. They are a joy to be around and give a fresh perspective on life for sure. We were blessed to be able to talk and share meals together, go on the zip line, jump on the bouncy balloon, watch the crazy ones jump in the freezing lake, play silly games and stay up till all hours of the night acting like 17 year olds again!

vacay.

The hubs and I just returned from a glorious week long vacation to DC and New York. In DC we were the epitome of wandering tourist as neither of us had been there before. Our nations capitol is pretty legit. The history is overwhelming and the architecture breathtaking. I absolutely loved it and can't wait to go back. New York was enjoyable as always. We were privileged to be able to stay with Andy's good friend from high school and his wife. It was great getting to know them and seeing the big apple from a locals perspective!

Lazy Blogger.

Ok, so it seems as though i may turn into a lazy blogger. I was scolded by my dear friend Melanie Frazier, who happens to be an all star blogger, about my lack of blogging. So in my attempt to blog something I am actually going to direct you all to Mrs. Frazier's blog to learn about the happenings of our Tuesday evening. It was a night we had long awaited, circled on the calendar and were excited that it had finally arrived. However, we were not prepared for what was to come! Please read on at frolicfancyfree....

(happy mel?!)

11.22.08

Austin.

Hat Creek Burger Company, one of the greats!

Game time!

Cool.

Senior night.

P came!

Kris came!

Hat Creek burgers and UT football made for a wonderful weekend in Austin with my fam!

D90.

This will soon be living in my home. We're calling it a Merry Christmas/Happy Anniversary/Happy Birthday gift to ourselves from ourselves. I. can. not. wait.

vino.

Do y'all know about Oak Leaf Wine? Cause if not, you should! It's good and it's cheap...like we are! $2.97 at Wal-Mart is the going rate. That's pretty unbeatable. It has now become a staple at the Somers residence and I believe I have LP to thank for the introduction!

I have a feeling this blog could turn into a "my favorite food" blog...I love food.

On a totally unrelated note, the Cowboys are struggling.

Caps.

I hate coffee. Always have, until now. The Meadows family has introduced me to my new favorite beverage, a hot and frothy cappuccino! Thank you to whoever gave them a cap maker as a wedding gift. I have thoroughly enjoyed it and look forward to indulging in yet another one this evening!

Paige makes dreams come true.

Andy went hunting last weekend so naturally I called Paige to come visit me. She kindly obliged and showed up on my door step at 9 o'clock Friday night. I knew the weekend would be a great one, but I never imagined we would accomplish the things that we did. You see, I like Dallas alright, but I miss Austin a lot. There's just something about this concrete fortress that I live in that makes me long for the hills and trees and lakes that surround my hometown. Paige constantly reminds me that I should convince my husband to move to Austin as soon as possible. The irony in her visit is that I have loved Dallas more this weekend than ever before thanks to her!

There are numerous things that I have wanted to do in the past couple of months in this city that all took place on Saturday. There is a cute little cafe that I heard about, Garden Cafe, that I have been wanting to try. Paige and I ate there for lunch. It was tasty! I have been desiring to go to Dallas Market Center, this weekend it was open to the public. We went and experienced and enjoyed our time looking at tacky Christmas decorations and gaudy clothing and jewelry. From there we went to the cute antique stores that I drive by everyday on my way to work. I've been dying to go in them! We ate a Sprinkles cupcake! Always enjoyable and something I never do. We had dinner at Cafe Madrid, also a first! And lastly, I've been contemplating starting a blog over the past couple of months...so here it is, my first blog post thanks to Paigey's convincing!

Thanks P, you made all of my Dallas dreams come true!