Never fear, Jake is here!!

Haha...depending on who you are, reading that title might be a wee bit confusing.

Am I talking about a person?

Am I talking about a dog?

Hmmm...who/what could I possibly talking about?

WHO is Jake?

Jake is this sweet thing:

Pampered much?
{Please excuse the mess of a desk in the
background...I'm mid packing, and it's not pretty}

He's my new puppy dog!! And by puppy, I mean, seasoned adult of a dog...but you know, "they're always babies to us..." Or something like that... But, that's beside the point.

I am absolutely head-over-heels for this dog, second to BigBoy (of course)...

...Sorry Grimm, my love,

you're gonna have to slide down spot #3, but don't you worry, Fun Aunt Heather will always visit and take you to the park - maybe you and Jakers can have a play date someday! {Yes, Ricci, I totally stole this from your blog...}

Jake is definitely one of the few things I have at my fingertips that brings me instantaneous joy. Now if I could just get BigBoy to hurry up and like him...there's the kicker. He'll come around, he always does - it just takes him a little while to warm up to new critters.

So, yes, even though the new addition to my menagerie is proving to be a little bit of pain on the search for a new home, I couldn't be happier.

We already have a little routine going. Every morning we wake up and go play some fetch and then we play another round in the evenings before dinner. Sometimes we play a few more rounds during the day...it's just been so hot this week - we haven't done a lot of that.

So, there you are my lovelies. A cheery post for your reading pleasure :)

I'll let you know as soon as I find a little home to nestle my menagerie into...only time will tell.

Hope your week has been a blessed one.

Shalom!
~MW

P.S. - thanks for all of the encouragement. I'm so blessed to have it pouring in from seemingly all corners of the earth. :]

[Edit: I totally forgot to thank Patrick and Sarah and Zach for sharing Jake with me and letting me take him up to the FT with me - y'all are the best cousins a gal could ask for. I will miss you so, so terribly!!!]

Let us Give Thanks...

...to the Lord for He is Good... (1Chron. 16:34)

Wow. Thanksgiving 2009 has arrived (well, in less than 2hrs it will). I cannot believe another year has come and gone. So much has happened in a years time and I have SO much to be thankful for. I don't even know where to begin. I think I will tackle this list-wise {yes, Humphrey Happenings, I'm copying your format...love you!}:

1. The selfless compassion, mercy, and love of my beautiful Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. {I wish everyone could know and understand how awesome He is and the indescribable peace and life-change that comes with truly knowing Him...ask me about it sometime!}

2. Music {I would probably go a little cray-cray without it.}

3. BigBoy {I don't know what I would do without those cuddle moments with him...and his occasional frisky moods where he actually PLAYS **WHAT?!?!**}

4. My amazing friends {You all know who you are; you were there when I felt most alone and when I felt most surrounded; when I was most saddened, and most overjoyed; you have simply been there when I needed encouragement or a wake-up smack upside the head - I love you all dearly.}

5. My family {You have given me the tools to become the woman I am today; your unending support will always mean the world to me.}

6. Chocolate {nuff said}

7. Honey Nut Cheerios/Toasty-Os {Heaven in a bowl of soy milk? I think yes.}

8. Cornelius!! {Even when you get sick, I am still ever so thankful every time you feel up to carting me around town, across the state, or across states}

9. Little Bubba and Tevye {Y'all kids are cool in my book}

10. Black licorice {Call me crazy, I think it's divine}

11. Sopapilla cheesecake

12. Layne's {Oh I will miss those delicious strips and sauce...}

13. Texas A&M University {Yeah, I said it, but seriously without this place my life would be nowhere near as amazing as it is}

14. Festive decorating {I so cannot wait to have own "nest" to festive-ify}

15. Missions

16. Child sponsorship

17. Grimm {The beloved four-legged friend of the Humphrey Happenings gang...I so love being "Fun Aunt Heather"!}

18. Spending hours in the kitchen {Seriously, some nights I just decide to not go to bed and bake or cook something instead...seriously.}

19. Blogging

20. Pictures {I will be a better photographer before I'm 25...running out of time, yikes!}

21. Arts & Crafts {Especially if it's gifts for other peoples...just makes my heart glad.}

22. Gardening/Potting plants {Something about it is just amazingly soothing to me}

23. Hiking around the great outdoors {This includes camping - I love getting dirty and feeling alive, there is absolutely nothing like it.}

24. Sitting with my family around me {The oldest of my two younger brothers is currently crashed on the loveseat next to me, with BigBoy wedged between us - this is absolute perfection.}

25. Discussing the love of Jesus with my siblings and friends {Especially when they get it!}

26. Candles...candles...and more candles.

27. Glade plug-ins Lavender-Vanilla {Smells like my home}

28. Tobias {My parents' newest four-legged family member...probably the most precious dachshund ever - I'm just saying...I'm totally stealing him when I move to the Land of 10,000 Lakes...shhh!! Don't tell my parents!!!}

29. The jokes on the wrappers of Laffy Taffy which provided for a much needed study break for me and Alyssa.

30. Firelight digital short {This can brighten ANYone's day.}

31. My damask laptop sleeve {It makes me ridiculously happy...maybe too happy...}

32. Dates with Mrs. Humphrey {Someone call the vet!!}

33. Living Hope {My walk would not be growing, strengthening, and moving the way it is now without the incredible preaching of truth, example, accountability, and genuine love exhibited there - such a glorious blessing to my life.}

34. Fireside Chai Tea {Gypsy Teas...woah dang, it's like Christmas in your mouth!!}

35. Elf {Need I say more??}

36. The EVER APPROACHING day of GRADUATION!!!

37. PJ pants {There's just something about them}

38. Prayer {Speechless}

39. Breakaway Ministries {Life changing}

40. Mountain Biking {More specifically having the privilege to learn in Rachel's class and getting to know her and her heart for the Lord over the course of this semester - I can't believe it's over!}

41. Winter weather/snow {I'll be with you soon!!}

42. Long phone calls with far-away friends {So amazingly wonderful}

43. Pea Coats {Especially if they are of the plum plaid genre - yum}

44. "Affordable" airfare

45. Long drives by myself *without a working radio* that force me to think and talk to God.

46. Decorator tables {The possibilities are endless!}

47. Being 4.5 essay questions away from being done with my course-by-correspondence!

48. Healing.

49. Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade {I cannot wait.}

50. Having time to sit and reflect on the blessings of life and sharing them with whomever desires to read them {I love reading other lists like this because they remind me of the little things I sometimes forget to be thankful for}

Well all, tomorrow calls for some early rising as I will be spending the entire day in the kitchen **WHOOP!** preparing a killer Thanksgiving Day Feast - don't you worry, I will document it and share it with you at some point. I'm trying some new recipes this year, too, so I'll let you know how those go.

Blessings and love to you all!
~MW

Angela is demanding.

Hello my loves!

First things first: I do realized that I have been neglectful in my blogging activities since the first day of class. I am sorry. I am busy. I am tired. I am sorry, again. And Angela, I apologize most profusely to you because I "forced" you to make a blog and then I've left you hanging for almost two weeks...

Well, now that that's done: Let's have an update, shall we?? {I just have to tell you that I typed that last sentence while bending over backwards....no lie. I'm awesome.}

So, what is it that I have been up to of late that has been keeping my nimble fingers from gracing your eyes with a feast of letters and symbols?? Two words: School, Work...oh, and some driving, so I guess more like 3 words...

Well, I was going to update, but I didn't realize how late it was...I must now make the trek across Raymond Stotzer and help out with the UESO icebreaker of awesome. I will finish this later...after I go to the Humphrey's to the the ld on taking care of Mr. Grimm.

And.........I'm finishing my post starting now :)

So, let's see, what do you need to know...?

Last weekend was Elaine's bachelorette party - it went well, I wish more girls had shown up, but the little group worked out nicely, too. After the bachelorette party in RR, I drove up to Arl for Christopher's birthday celebration - he turned 16!!!!! Insane. We took him to Medieval Times where I was blatantly hit on by one of the executioners...he wove his way through the crowds from all the way across the waiting hall to come screw with me...it was funny, though, i enjoyed the ridiculousness of the situation.

Week two of classes has gone pretty well...nothing too exciting. We got our "awesome" plant presses for taxonomy of flowering plants on Tuesday...that was fun to lug around - I'll post a pic later.

Hmm, I do believe that's about it. Oh!! Angela came to visit on Tues., that was fabulous. I love it when my roommies of old come to visit, but it always makes me miss them even more...it makes me appreciate the love and relationships that have grown between us over the past few years even more...even if I'm nearly falling asleep the whole time they are here ;) But it was wonderful to see her. I was sad it had to be so short, but short is better than nothing.

I think I'm applying to grad school at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis-St. Paul....WHAT?! And I think my graduate advisor will be Susan Weller...director of the Bell Museum of Natural History and outreach programs at U of M....WHAT?!?! And I'll have all of my tuition and fees covered, full benefits, and a living stipend....WHAT?!?!?! Is this real life?!?!? Granted, I still need to actually apply and pass the GRE, but still - this could really happen. I could really be working towards a master of science degree in entomology at the University of Minnesota, Golden Gophers (yikes...), come fall of 2010. This is almost too much awesome potential to handle.

Well, my dear ones, it has been a looong week...so I'm calling it a night. I'll try to get back on top of my blogging duties from here on out - sorry for the neglect, nothing personal :)

Blessings!
~MW

P.S. - I think I have a new-found addiction: Mountain Biking...even though I'm crazy sore, all I have wanted to do all week was hit the trails again!!! I might have to find some way to get myself and my bike out to the lake this weekend...I want to ride, yo!!