Adios 2011!

2011 has been filled with blessings. 

Coy started a new job. I finished my fourth year of teaching.  I started my Master's degree in Occupational Therapy.  We celebrated our first wedding anniversary.  My sister got married.  We levelled our house...the first step in fixing it up.  We joined a LIFE group at church and participated in the Supper 8 club.

Looking forward to 2012!

Christmas

We went to church on Christmas Eve.  Growing up, this is one of the things that I looked forward to most. 

On Christmas day, we went over to Coy's mom's house to celebrate with his family.  Our nephews were cute opening their presents.  They each got almost identical gifts...overalls and lots of trucks! 

Later that afternoon, we drove to Houston.  All of my family was waiting around for us to arrive.  We opened presents and grazed on all of the Pinterest treats that my sister made.

And this was Coy's most anticipated gift this year.  I call it his "Elmer Fudd" hat.  The flaps fold down to keep his ears warm when he's out feeding cows and working outside.

Since Coy bought a tractor a few weeks ago and I'm getting a deep freezer, we didn't buy each other gifts this year. 

Merry Christmas!

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.  And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

Isaiah 9:6

It's beginning to look alot like Christmas!

Here's our tree.  We sucked it up and bought a fake one this year.  However, I miss the smell of a fresh one, so it might be the only year we use it.

 I had intentions of making stockings this year, but with school and everything else, it just didn't happen!

 We each pick out a new ornament each year.  Coy even went to Hobby Lobby with me.  Can you tell which one he picked out?



Happy Turkey Day!

We spent Thanksgiving at Memaw's house with Coy's family this year.  There are so many things to be grateful for and none of those that I take for granted.

I am thankful for my husband who works hard to provide for us.

I am thankful for my mom and mother-in-law who have done so much for us.

I am thankful for the opportunity to go back to school and get my Master's degree.

I am thankful for a great church family to become more involved with.

I am thankful for my siblings.

I am thankful for our health.

I am thankful for having a nice home and fixing it up a little bit at a time.

I am thankful for our nephews that bring so much joy to our lives.

I just feel extremely blessed and look forward for the great things to come!

Happy Halloween!

We started out with a big bucket of candy.  When it started getting dark, I had to run to get Coy from the field, so I just set the candy out.  By the time I got back, it was almost gone.  We saw a few little trick-or-treaters and then turned the porch light out.  At least the candy is gone, so I don't have a reason to snack on it!

Hello Fall!

Thank goodness that the cooler weather has come...hopefully it sticks around this time.  I even had to wear a jacket to church this morning.  Speaking of church, we started some new groups this fall.  We joined a LIFE group that meets every Sunday night.  It's a mix of couples of all ages, so it should be fun!  We also joined the Supper 8 rotation.  Every month, we're assigned to a group with three other couples and have dinner at somebody's house.

OT school is going good.  Midterms are coming up next week, so the semester is almost halfway done.  I'm just thankful that I have the opportunity to go back to school and have a husband to support me through!

I also finished my first project that I found on Pinterest.  I made two burlap wreaths to hang on the french doors in the dining room.  I also put out the "N" pumpkin that I finally found at Hobby Lobby.

Labor Day Weekend

We spent Labor Day weekend in Port O'Connor at Vince and Tracee's beach house.  We drove down late Friday night.  On Saturday, we stayed around the house and played games and napped.  It was nice to relax and have a lazy day.  We sat out on the balcony and enjoyed the breeze.

On Sunday, we went out on the boat.  We tried to make it out to an island, but it was too rough.  We were totally drenched from the waves.  I finally just closed my eyes and held on tight until we were back in calm waters.  We went to the beach for a little while before all of the crazies came out.  Later that night, we went out to the boat ramp to watch all of the drunks load up their boats.  It was quite entertaining.

We drove home today and this was the only picture I got from the weekend.  We had to take the backroads home since I35 was backed up.  Coy wanted some summer sausage, so we stopped at a little gas station.  I was very surprised when he came out with this huge link of sausage!

We were also pleasantly surprised to come home to 85 degree weather.  Hello, fall!

Hondo

Since I had a little free time and Coy was gone to his annual conference, I drove out to Hondo to see Sarah, Nelson and the kiddos.  On Tuesday night, we drove into San Antonio to meet Bryan and Stephanie for supper.  We ate Mexican food and the kids were fascinated by the Davy Crockett mannequin that played the fiddle.  On Wednesday, we just hung around the house and the kids entertained us.  It's tiring chasing two toddlers around all day.  Since I didn't take any pictures, I stole this one from Sarah's blog.  I was also sent home with homemade pickles and pickled okra.  Yum!

Just a funny story

I was in Target a few days ago and making small talk with the cashier as I was checking out.  I had an Aggie shirt on and she said that it looked familiar because she had one like it.  She then went on to say that her daughter was a sophomore at A&M and asked me if I had a son or daughter that went to A&M.  Umm.....WHAT???  I know I just turned 27 and don't think I look old enough to have a kid in college.  I think she was shocked when I said "No, I graduated 4 years ago".

Mix it up!

After being married for a year, we still have some wedding presents that we haven't used.  I was excited to get a stand mixer, but hadn't used it yet.  I finally pulled it out and made a 7UP cake.  I am in love!  I see lots of baked goods in our future!

Birthday Weekend

On Friday night, we went to the Old Settler's Reunion.  When we got there, the fiddling contest was going on.  I told Coy that I didn't want a birthday cake as long as I got a funnel cake while we were there.  That is the one food I have to have when I go to a carnival.

 Here's all of the fried goodness.  I didn't think you could mess up a funnel cake, but it ended up being burnt on the bottom and kinda hard.  Oh well, I ate half of it.  (I probably didn't need to eat the whole thing anyways.)

 On Saturday night, we ate at Texas de Brazil.  It's a Brazilian steakhouse where gauchos come to your table and serve the different cuts of meat.  I was so stuffed by the time we left!  The fried bananas were also pretty yummy!

I'm actually excited to be getting closer to 30!  I know some people dread it, but I feel like that's when everything exciting will start happening!  I'll be done with school and we can start having babies!

I survived Neuro!

I finished my summer class today.  I'm glad to have neuroanatomy behind me.  While it was interesting, some stuff was just over my head.  Now, I have two weeks off until the Fall semester starts.  I'm looking forward to relaxing and maybe finishing a few crafty projects.

It's a weird feeling talking to my teacher friends and seeing everybody post on Facebook about setting up their classrooms and starting school.  While I'll miss some of the kiddos, I can't say that I will miss spending hours setting up a classroom and all of the staff development!

I'm on Week 5 of the Couch to 5K program.  It's getting easier everytime.  It doesn't sound like much, but this chubby girl can now run 5 minutes at a time.  Hey, that's more than when I started.  I've also been going to a workout class at the church.  It feels good to be getting back in shape.

Gran-Gran

Harold Gene Renfro (1925 - 2011)

Harold Gene Renfro, a gentle and loving husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather, went to be with his Lord and Savior on Thursday, July 28, 20ll. Funeral: 10 a.m. Monday at Blessing Funeral Home, Mansfield. Visitation: 4 to 6 p.m. Sunday at the funeral home. Harold was born Feb. 10, 1925, in Lillian to George and Elva Renfro. He married the love of his life, Doris Clynch, on Dec. 7, 1944. They were married for 66 years and were extremely devoted to each other. His family was his whole life and he took tremendous pride in his large and loving family. He was always there for all of us and saw each member as a "diamond in the rough" that, with love and attention, would shine brighter and brighter. There was never a time that he lost faith in each of our abilities to do better and always encouraged us to be decent and caring human beings. We are all so blessed to have had him in our lives. Harold was a veteran of World War II, having served in the Marianas Islands. He was on a war ship headed to participate in the U.S. invasion of the mainland of Japan when the atomic bombs were dropped. He always credited the dropping of the atomic bombs with possibly saving his life. Later, he was a member of the 49th Armored Division of the Texas National Guard. Harold retired from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and was also an independent poultry and egg producer for many years. He was preceded in death by his parents; beloved granddaughter, Kristy Nall; and son-in-law, Douglas Nall. Survivors: Left to cherish his memories are his wife, Doris; children, Carol Cronkrite and husband, Jack, Lynn Nall, Terry Renfro and wife, Mary, Tim Renfro and wife, Vanessa; nine grandchildren; 14 great-grandchildren; brother, Maurice Renfro; sister, Ysleta Hall; and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.

Corn Hay

Coy decided to bale up the last corn field.  Jonathon came into town to stack up the hay and get it out of the field.

I brought lunch out to the guys.  Many meals have been eaten out in the field....just part of being a farmer's wife!

Hot Hot Hot!

This heat is insane!  Everyday is up in the 100's and all I want to do is sit in front of the AC.  I guess there's not a happy medium.....I complained when we were getting all of the snow earlier this year and now I'm complaining about how hot it is.

My poor little plants don't stand a chance.  I put them by the door so I would remember to water them, and I still somehow forget to water them.  They might be past the point of no return, but I watered them one last time to see if they would perk back up.  Coy said he hopes I take better care of our kids than I do of the plants.

Couch to 5K

I started the "Couch to 5K" program this week.  If I stick with it, I'll be running 3 miles in 8 weeks.  It starts out running for a minute and then walking for 1.5 minutes over and over.  That doesn't sound like much, but it gave this overweight girl a workout.  There's even a handy Iphone app that tells you when to run and walk.  I think I can, I think I can.....

Canton and Curtains

Mom and Becca came into town this weekend.  On Saturday, we went to Canton.  The one thing I wanted was an old window that I could paint and hang in the bathroom.  I finally found one with all of the glass panes and in decent condition.  I also found some little salt and pepper shakers to put on a shelf in the kitchen.  I enjoyed looking at the junky stuff better than all of the nicer things.

I also needed some curtains for the kitchen.  There are six windows to cover, so making some would be a lot cheaper than buying them.  I found some material at Hobby Lobby and my wonderful mom started sewing.  After she made three of them, I did a little bit of the work.  I only messed up once, but it wasn't anything a seam ripper couldn't undo.  I love the new curtains!

Here's a video of the sewing adventures.

We're taking it easy for the 4th of July.  We planned to go to the little celebration in the park, but it was canceled so they didn't burn the town down with the fireworks.

VBS



This was my first time to help at Vacation Bible School.  It was a New York theme and the kids put on a musical on the last night.  Those songs will be stuck in my head for a long time!

Cutting Silage

Coy's cousin, Tricia, was getting married today.  Coy was waiting all day for the silage guys to come and they finally showed up 3 hours before the wedding.  I was doubting if Coy would make it to the wedding because he had to get the silage crew set up.  Once they got started, he came home and got ready.  On the way from the ceremony to the reception, we brought Todd to watch the guys work.  Todd loved the big trucks and the loud sound that the Claas choppers made.

 Coy had to cut this for silage because of the drought.  This was his fourth corn crop and the fourth year in row that we have been in a drought in June.  Coy told me that this is his last year for corn. He also told me if he decided to plant corn again next year to punch him.  It looks like from now on he's going to stick with wheat and maize.  It was pretty dry early on in the year, and then we got some pretty decent rains later on.  It seemed like it would be "the year of the corn", and Coy was very optimistic about it.  However, at the end of May into June, we didn't get a drop of rain. It was over 100 degrees nearly every day and the wind was blowing up to 40 mph.



Green Monster

I am really bad about drinking milk and eating enough fruits and veggies.  I found something that solved that problem!  It's a Green Monster Smoothie.  It doesn't look very appetizing, but it's actually pretty tasty.  You start with milk and add any fruit that you like.  (I started with strawberries and bananas.)  Then, add a handful of spinach.  You can't taste the spinach in the smoothie.  Once you get past the green color, it's yummy to drink.

Wedding Cake

Last night, we took the top tier of our wedding cake out of the freezer.  After it thawed out, we shared a piece of cake.  Suprisingly, the cake tasted pretty much the same.  The icing was a little gritty, but the cake was still moist.  Coy said he might even eat several more pieces.  We're also still using the pink napkins with our names.

Our First Anniversary

We spent our first anniversary in Fredericksburg. We stayed at a little bed and breakfast right off Main Street. It was far enough away from the busy shopping area, but still close enough to be able to walk down there. We got into town late Friday night and it felt a little weird walking into somebody else's house.

Each morning, we ate breakfast in the dining room with all of the other people staying there. It was nice and cool in the mornings to sit on the porch and read the paper.
We drove out to Luckenbach to see what all the hype was about. We drank a beer in the little bar at the back of the post office/store. The dancehall was closed when we were there.

We stopped by Grape Creek Vineyards for a wine tasting. I wanted to take a tour of the vineyard, but we were there too early.

We also visited to National Museum of the Pacific War. This is what Coy was looking forward to the most.

We ate dinner and then went to a festival called "Night in Old Fredericksburg". It was the perfect night of drinking beer and polka dancing. We spotted lots of lederhosens.

On our way home on Sunday, we stopped by the Enchanted Rock. It's a huge pink granite rock. The hike up the rock was only 0.6 miles, but it felt like we went farther than that.

We made it up to the top in our flip flops! It was also pretty windy, so the heat wasn't too bad.