Easter Weekend!

We always enjoy the opportunity to come together with family. We are so blessed by the families that we come from, and so having holidays such as Easter to be together is something we always are looking forward too. We were able to spend Easter with both the Sims and Moses sides of the family and so Anslee got to see all her grandparents. I have to say that Anslee should consider herself VERY lucky to have such loving grandparents on both sides. She is spoiled beyond belief, but we are so glad she will have the relationships with her grandparents that she will cherish and so the spoiling is well worth it for Tyler and I. No complaints here! We started off the weekend by heading to Coleman for the annual Easter egg hunt. Aunt Jacy was so sweet and bought Anslee a Pottery Barn kids Easter basket. So cute. Here is a picture of Anslee enjoying her Easter basket before it was full of Easter eggs! Tyler had so much fun hunting eggs with Anslee, and I had a great time following them around with a camera.
This was our first holiday to celebrate with Anslee as a part of the family and so it was so much fun to bring her into the traditions and watching her participate. (well as much as she could at 2.5 months old)She did really well and did not fuss too terribly much. Tyler and I decided after all the fun was had and the weekend was over that keeping her on any kind of a schedule just won't happen when we go visit family, and that is perfectly fine. She is so young and won't stay this way forever, so we want everyone to enjoy her when they get the opportunity. We were still so proud of of how well she did, despite the schedule changes! We also spent time in Abilene with the Sims side of the family. We had a great Easter day lunch at my Papa and Nell's house, that Nell prepared for us. Then the rest of the evening we spent with my parents at their house. My Mom and Anslee and I spent the day on Monday shopping. We are getting into a terrible habit of doing that each time I come to Abilene. There is just something about shopping for little baby girl that has me near addicted. She got some really cute, really big new bows and two new outfits. She will be super cute in all her new items.
Well this is all for now...I am getting better about this blogging already!

Anslee Elyse Moses, January 22, 2009

As horrible as I am at blogging, I thought I should go ahead and provide an update. The Moses household has all but changed in every way possible since the last post on December 7th. We welcomed our first born, precious, baby girl Anslee Elyse Moses into the world on January 22, 2009.
This is her first glamour shot. Anslee was surprisingly born 3 weeks and 2 days earlier than planned. We went in for my 36 week pre natal check up, and after looking at the ultrasound, Dr. Moore felt it was best to be pro active in taking her early due to there not being enough fluid in the placenta. He said she would grow better on the outside than on the inside. A little shook up, we headed to the hospital and got settled in. The next morning, I headed to the OR for an elected C-section. They tried to give me a spinal, but I was clearly still able to feel everything, so after the 2nd try with the spinal that did not work, they put me totally under. Tyler was not able to come into the room because I was put under completly. Anslee came out very small at a whopping 4 lbs 11 oz, but perfectly healthy. You can see from the photo above that her lungs were fully developed. I like to think thats because I continued working out during pregnancy (up until the day before she was born) which did increase the oxygen brought to her in the womb. But, really, who knows if that is really true. Ha!

Trooper Moses is easing into fatherhood perfectly. He is an excellent father, and it has been the most precious thing for a new mom to watch him settle into his new and most important role. He has been wonderful and changing dirty diapers, feeding her, and when she was not sleeping though the night, he would even bite the bullet and wake up with her to give me a break. Luckily for us, for the last two weeks, Anslee has slept about 8 hours each night consistently. She will go down about 10 or 10:30 and wake up right before 7 am. Mom and Dad are so thankful for that. She is even an excellent napper! Anslee is growing so fast. At 10 weeks now, she is weighing a little over 10 lbs, and is almost 22 inches long! She certainly has the Moses limbs, we think she will be fairly tall...but we will see!

This is Anslee now, at 10 weeks old. We can't believe how quickly she has grown. We are still waiting to see intentional smiles, she is trying though, and every now and again we think we see one. I am so excited for the next little milestones, such as the smiling, and laughing, and sitting up. She holds her head up pretty well when placed on her belly, and coo's at us all the time. We love reading, singing, and playing with her when she is awake! Being able to stay home with her has been a huge blessing that works great for our family. The time I have with her is so precious and I am so glad that my sweet husband is happy being the working one, while I keep our baby girl during the day (or night, when he works nights!)

Blogging is an excellent way to keep up with Anslee's growth and updates, so i am going to try to committ to blogging more often. If I can sneak away while she sleeps, I will put up more photos and updates on our growing family!

Goodbye 2008

I suppose its time for an update, when our lives have changed quite considerably since the last post on July 29th!

Tyler did graduate from the DPS Academy in Austin! The 6 month commute between Abilene and Austin is over, for good! We sure are glad to be able to live together like a full time married couple again, but are better for the challenges we faced and overcame! We have moved to Hillsboro, Texas. It is a small town in between Austin and Forth Worth right on Interstate 35. Since moving here on October 1st, we have been able to attend the First Baptist Church regularly and Tyler has started patrolling as commissioned Peace Officer. He has seen some pretty interesting things as a State Trooper. He loves his job, even though the hours are strange and he has to work weekends and holidays. We are so happy that he has great job satisfaction and that he has already started a path to a successful career!

Tyler and I will actually celebrate our ONE YEAR wedding anniversary on Tuesday, December 9th. It has been a whirlwind of a 1st year of marriage, and of course we have been through a whole lot together for only being married 1 year, but it has been a memorable one and we are thankful for our first year has been a fantastic year, and we can only seem them getting better and better! Here is what all our first year of marriage included:

1. Tyler starting work with the DPS
2. Tyler going through the 6 month long academy, and GRADUATING
3. Finding out we are Pregnant with a baby girl
4. Moving from Abilene to Hillsboro

It may not seem like a long list, but we both agree that we are almost just exhausted from the hard work and surprises that 2008 included.
One of the biggest changes for me, was going from working full time to not working at all. I had worked for Lauren Engineers and Constructors for a little over 2 years when Tyler and I moved to Hillsboro, and now I am staying at home and preparing for Anslee to get here. I am glad that I am able to stay home, right now, considering Tyler's work schedule. Its wonderful that I am always off when he is and that we have that time together guarenteed. It has just been a change becuase I enjoyed being productive and having specific goals to meet on a daily basis. I know that we have made the right decision for me to stay at home, and as time goes on, I am adjusting better to being responsible for things here at home.

At 30 weeks pregnant, I am feeling good and constantly saying prayers of thanks to the Lord for such an easy and healthy pregnancy. Anslee is growing at a perfectly normal rate, and I have not suffered through any kind of symptoms. I also continue to pray that the last 10 weeks of this pregnancy will continue to go just as easy as the first two trimesters have gone! We are still on target for a Valentines Day delivery, but we will so how she cooperates when it gets closer to time!

Trevor and Jacy's weddings are closely approaching and we are all very excited for those days to get here so we can celebrate with them! Life is not slowing down, but we are certainly glad to have exciting events to look forward too.

Look for more updates soon, now that I am at home, there should be no excuses! :)

Weddings and Babies!

Tyler and I are so blessed! We have so many exciting life changes to look forward too, and we thank our God each day for the work he is doing not only in our own lives, but in the lives of our friends and family. Speaking of family!! Jacy and Brian are getting married on January 31, 2009. This is one wedding that we have been waiting for with much anticipation for a while, and one that we will never forget! Jacy has been very busy planning away. So far, the rehersal dinner, church, and reception site have been selected and put on the calendar! I have been so impressed by her ability to plan large events, considering that is what she does for a living, and I know this will be her best work yet!

Here are the future Mr. and Mrs. Brian Russell at the Coleman Rodeo. We all got together that late weekend in June in Coleman and went the annual Pro Rodeo there that they hold. We had a lot of fun, but we always do when we all get a chance to get together! I can't wait until their wedding day! Until then, I will be enjoying every second of the planning that is going on. Tyler and I will both be in the bridal party for this wedding too!

Trevor, Tyler's cousin and probably closest friend, will be marrying Grace Brazille on January 2nd of this year in Denton. They meet at UNT in Denton where they both went to school and participated in Young Life. I would post a picture of them, but I do not have one of the two of them. We are excited about their big day as well! Tyler will be the Best Man in this wedding!

Tyler and I have some very special friends that are getting married this upcoming weekend! Ryan Gibson and Libby Connel! They will be married on August 2nd in Clyde! They met at HSU and both are very dear to Tyler and I as we were all very close all through our college careers. We had a bachlorette party this past Sunday for Libby, and we all had such a good time. Here a couple of photos to give you some insight to how much fun we really had!

This is Libby asking a married couple a few tables down from us some wedding advice. She got some good advice from them, they had been married 32 years. They told her to have a sense of humor, trust your spouse, and to balance the checkbook! I think all married people would agree to those bits of advice she got! Every time Libby finished an assignment (like asking a married couple for marriage advice) she could "tie a knot" on the ribbons attached to her veil.

We ate dinner at the Texas Roadhouse for her party, and every now and again the waitors and waitresses will do a line dance. When they started dancing, we made Libby get up there and learn the dance and preform with them. This was her attempt at their line dance. Erin was a good friend and went with her. I just followed them around with my camera. I would say a good time was had by all. :)

Since I last blogged, Tyler and I found out that we are expecting a baby! The baby is due is (for now at least) on Valentines Day 2009! We are so excited to so very soon be adding a member to the family. We have names picked out that we are throwing around, but nothing has been set in stone just yet. Here are some of the pictures of the baby that the doctor was able to take. They were taken on July 9th, when I was 8 weeks and 4 days pregnant. Right now I am 11 weeks and 3 days pregnant!

The baby only measured 2.04 cm long at this time, but was growing perfectly. In this picture you can see the head and the two little legs! Its head is taking up most of the photograph becuase the brain is developing at wild rates, so the bigger the brain the better! This baby is so smart already. My next appointment is August 5th, and it will be so interesting to see the difference in size in those 4 weeks. We will be excited to find out the baby's gender on September 29th. Tyler will graduate on September 26th and the first thing we will do is find out if we are having a baby boy or a baby girl! I am so thrilled that Tyler will surely be able to be there. I would not have it any other way for sure! The heartbeat was so fast. It was moving around...dancing and playing already. The heartbeat was 183 beats per minute! So fast and so alive!

This is what the doctor called the "Teddy Bear" view. It is the side view and they use this view to measure from crown to the bottom exactly how long it, which gives you the gestational age of the baby. It was a good thing they could figure that out for me, because we did not have a clue how far along I was! I ended up being a lot less pregnant than I thought, which is a blessing because it gave me 2 more weeks to prepare mentally and emotionally for this child!! I think that Valentines Day would be a very special day for the baby to be born, but I guess we will take it on whichever day it decides to grace us with its presence.

Life really is coming fast at us all. We feel blessed because everything that we are experiencing in the next few months are things that will bring us all great joy. There does not seem to better things to look forward too in life than Weddings and Babies!

In the Swing of Things

Well I could start out this blog by apologizing again for taking so long to update, but I guess that can just be assumed now for all that read this blog, becuase I have to apologize every time that I update.

Things have been going well for Tyler and I as we continue on through the DPS Training Academy. Tyler has continued to do extremely well in all of his classes, passing all of his test with high A's. We are always proud of him, but really never expected to see anything less! He did go through the OC Pepper Spray test this past week. He had to run through an obstacle course after having been sprayed with the pepper spray directly in the eyes. He has to fight off an instructor with his asp baton and he had to make an official arrest before he was able to call for "back up". He did very well, and some irritation but it did not last too terribly long. He will now be able to carry the pepper spray upon graduation. We are in week 11 of the Academy. Which means there are 15 weeks left. We are making great progress and doing well in the meantime. Life is just continuing on as normal here in Abilene for me. I have been able to see my friends often, and my parents as well...which has all be great and I am so thankful for everyone trying to keep me busy during the day while Tyler is gone. We are almost half way, and I am looking forward to the downward slope towards his graduation day (September 26th).

We had the opportunity to take some photos I thought I would share over a weekend a few weekends past. We had a great time, and we had a good friend take them. Her name is Stephanie Ellison and we were really pleased with her work.



We had such a blast taking these pictures. We took most of them at HSU, were we met. Its such a beautiful campus and it has sentimental value for us, so it was the perfect place to start off. I thought the blogspot might be a good place to show off our pictures! So here are a few more!



Tyler forgot to shave for the pictures, so we did have a minor discussion about that, but he apologized and said that in our next session he promised he would. I just thought it was funny that he had forgotten to shave considering being clean shaven is part of his lifestyle for sure up at the Academy.





I thought the pink flowers in this pictures to the right were gorgeous. I loved how Stephanie was able to bring out the colors when she was editing the pictures. Stephanie really would like to get started in a photography studio, running her own business someday, and I really think she has the potential to do great things with photography. It was fun to have her be the one to take our pictures. She loves HSU like we do! We also took some down by the train station here in Abilene, and I thought those turned out pretty cool too.



I really loved how she was able to do the shading around the edges. I loved her work! Its so funny to think that my hair has changed so drastically since we took these photos. Tyler made the comment that it was weird to see these pictures, becuase he has already gotten so used to my hair being 6 and a half inches shorter than it is seen in the pictures!












We did actually sit down in the middle of the train tracks for this picture, and Tyler was so worried that a train might come, and he must have some sort of 6th sense, becuase one sure did come and we did have to hurry off, but luckily we were still able to get a pictue like this one on the right. I love pictures on train tracks! I think they always turn out really neat looking. So here is ours I guess! We did actually get a picture with the train coming up behind us too....





It really was cool to be able to snag a picture with the lights of the train coming toward us, but it was kind of scary when Tyler made mention of the fact that the train could kick up any kind of debris on the tracks that could easily hit us, so we moved quickly after we snapped the photo and headed off downtown. Stephanie had all kinds of places she wanted to go. We are actually going to go out again for another session with her, because a storm came through and caused the lighting to be off that night so we had to cut our time short.


I love this picture, not that is is really visible to the eye on this blog, but it is our picture with the words of 1 Corinthians 13 behind us. Of course that is the Love verse that the pastor at our wedding read aloud to our friends and our families, and to us as we were about to be married. I love that verse becuase its a very simple reminder about what love is and it also reminds us what love is not. This picture can actually be printed out in a an 8x10 size with the words being seen perfectly. I was so glad that Tyler agreed to let us have these pictures taken. I look at them as an investment, and something we will always want to keep and of course share with our families. We might even be able to use one of these for a Christmas cards this year. I know thats forever away, but it never hurts to start preparation for things like that!

Well I hope this LONG blog has made up for the last month or so that I have failed to update. Besides Tyler doing FANTASTIC in his studies, physical health, and everything emotional, there is really no more news for now.

We appreciate all the prayers and support from our wonderful friends and family!

5 is better than 6!

Ok, again, I am apologizing for not updating sooner. I always have the best of intentions to do, but its amazing how fast time passes by and I find myself realizing that there are not enough hours in the day to get done with everything I had started the day intending to do!

The last few weeks have been come and gone, and thats the way we like it right now! Tyler has successfully completed 1 month officially in the DPS Training Academy, and is finding that he is really good at what he does. He has passed all of his tests, every spelling test with a perfect score, and staying in good shape mentally, physically, scholastically, and emotionally while being down in Austin. He feels like there is nothing they can do to him that would make him want to give up, and that makes me very proud of the character he posesses. We are in the middle of week 5 now. With 5 months to go now instead of 6. 5 is better than 6, so I will take it!

The weekend before last, when Tyler was home, we were able to go up to Mineral Wells, TX and spend time with Tyler's parents, sisters, cousins, 2nd cousins, and Aunt and Uncle. We had a really good time, while eating really good food and having really good conversation with each other. Tyler's dad, Jay, and his uncle Bobby Jack, and his cousin, Doug are all involved with the DPS. Jay and Bobby Jack are retired DPS law enforcement officers, and Doug is currently a Highway Patrol Sergeant in the Weatherford Office. I thought it was great that they were all together and all have this career in common, so I took some pictures. Bobby Jack and Frieda have the cutest home, and thats where all these pictures were taken!

Here they all are, standing exactly same. It must be something they have all learned while being a part of the DPS. Or maybe its just a male stanse for picture taking in general. Who knows?!

This is such a great picture of Tyler and his dad! I think that it is so special how Tyler and his dad share the passion for a career. They have always been the best of friends and very close, but Tyler following in his father's footsteps and having that they will have always to share. I think that Tyler has learned so much from watching his dad, and how valuable that has become for him not only personally, but now professionally as well.

Tyler's aunt had some GORGEOUS flowers growing in her backyard. I think Tyler was really sick of me trying to take pictures of everything, but the flowers were too pretty to pass up the excellent photo opp. so I made him. I know in the pictures he looks very bald. This is not true though. Tyler does in fact have some hair, much more than can be seen from the pictures. Its just the glare...I promise. Ha! and I am actually much more tan and 10 lbs lighter than I look too....

It was great to see Jacy and Lacy and Nate in Mineral wells also. Whenever there is a chance to get a picture of the three of them together, I always try. The one from this particular weekend turned out really good I thought!
Jacy (in the middle) had just got her hair cut and colored and I could not get over how great it looked. We were sad that Brian, Jacy's boyfriend, couldn't make it to the get together because he had to work. He was having to work that weekend.

We were excited that Lacy and Nate were able to make it down from their home in Keller! They have been married almost 2 years, in July actually! It was fun to be able to catch up with them and hear about the things going on thier lives. I was envious of Lacy...she is a teacher and gets summer's off. I wish I did too!





Well, as far as my work goes, it has been unusually stressful lately. I did have the opportunity to travel out to one of our major construction sites last week. It was interesting to be able to see the product of our work back in the corporate office, so that was good, I am just not a fan of traveling. It was exhausting, they work longer hours and in a much different type of enviornment that what I am used to back at the home office in Abilene. The drive down there was beautiful (Hwy 6 all the way to Hillsboro was the route I drove). I am glad I didnt get lost though...I was almost sure I was going too!

Now, its just waiting for the weekend! Tyler will get home on Friday and we don't have anything planned. I am going to attempt to cook again, seeing as how last week was a success!

Be waiting for the next exciting update! I will have a full report on my attempts in the kitchen!

Looking Forward...Not backward

It has been a while since I last updated...an apology is due to my faithful readers...so I am sorry! I had Jenny, with PinkArmchairDesigns designing a new blog page for your viewing pleasure...don't you love it?! I do!

Time has actually been going by fairly fast for us, and for now thats a good thing. 2008 holds a lot in store for us to look forward too, so thats what we are doing. Looking forward to what happens next.

It seem as if a lot has happened lately, Tylers closest friend and cousin, Trevor Watson proposed to his girlfiend, Grace Brazile. We are so excited for them! Grace is going to make an lovely addition to the family, and all of us are so thrilled. Last we had heard they were planning to have their Wedding Ceremony on January 3, 2009! Its amazing how fast the next few months of their lives will pass by! We are looking forward to the next chance we get to see them! So that is an event we are looking forward too!

Speaking of weddings...we will be attending a few this summer. It is so neat to watch God work in the relationships of our friends. Abby and Cody are getting married on July 5th. We will be there, in the big city of Hereford as they "take the plunge" and become the Neinest Family (ok i am so sorry if I didn't spell the name right!!) Then, not long after that Ryan and Libby will tie the knot on August 2nd. We will again be traveling to another big city...Clyde,TX for this wedding. We have been waiting a long time for this one, as they have dated the longest out of any our friends! So until then, its showers and planning and preparing!

Tyler's sister, Jacy, is headed out on a nice vacation in just two weeks! I am so jealous! Her boyfriend, Brian and his family are taking Jacy with them to the Virgin Islands for a nice little rest and relaxation after his taking a very stressful Certified Financial Planner exam a few weekends back. They are both looking forward to that trip, and even though we are jealous...we hope they have a fun time while they are there!

As far as the Academy goes, Tyler is to no surprise doing GREAT. He is enjoying the challenges he faces everyday...and overcoming them. He is enjoying what he is learning, and he is retaining it all too. He has made pretty much all A's so far on tests that he has been given. He is in the middle of his 3rd week. He says he feels like he is really getting used to the routine they have them in every day. He has also made some good friendships with those guys that he is going through the Academy with. I feel like I know some of them myself! I prayed a lot for his making good solid friendships with the guys he is working with. I feel like that makes the process easier and more enjoyable for him. He has spelling words every week that he has to learn how to spell correctly and have a full understanding of the defintions of these words. This week, while I am at home, I have been writing out the words and the definitions on notecards to make the studying a little easier on him. It turns out he has so much information to learn its unreal! I mean, I feel like he is even going to end up being fluent in spanish! Here is a picture of the notebook he has put together. Please remember, he has only been there a little over 3 weeks, and he brought this home to show me after he completed his second full week.

When he showed me this notebook I was amazed, but when you think about it, law enforcement officers have to know so many things, especially state law enforcement officers. They have to have an understanding of the legal system so in depth, I mean...so much is crammed into these 6 months. I can really see now how the 6 months time period they have to train gets used to the max. They learn so much.

We very much enjoy our weekends together. Those few days of the week teach us not to take any second of our time together for granted. We are making it through, the both of us, with big smiles on our faces still! See!

This was even right before he was about to head out on Sunday afternoon, and we were both still smiling! I know it seems like in every picture Tyler is wearing the same thing. Well he has too. Its his "uniform" for now! I think green shirts and a bald head are cute on him! ha!

Well that is all for now! I promise to keep up better on my updating now that its designed so cute!