Mother's Day Pics

For Mother's Day this year, 

we headed out to my parents house to grill some pizzas and play some cards!! 

The pizzas were excellent, the company wonderful

... and the card game? It was a Mother's Day Miracle! 

My mom and I actually won!! 

(This doesn't happen often - we're too risky when it comes to 3's -

 if you've never played Hand & Foot - 

you won't know what this means - sorry!!)

We had a wonderful afternoon!

We are so grateful for the Mother's in our lives 

and we feel so blessed to know so many wonderful women!!

Easter!! {Playing Catch Up}

We had a lovely Easter this year!!

We had breakfast and an egg hunt with Nate's family in the morning!
I love watching the kiddos help each other find eggs and getting so excited to open them
 and see what was in them!!

In the afternoon, we headed out to my parents house for Easter dinner:

 

(Hmmm ... ham? or nuggets? ;)

We took some photos, enjoyed the beautiful blossoms, and played some cards!!

 

It was a wonderful day and we loved spending time with our families!!

Graduation!!

Graduation was last Saturday!! Wahoo!!

My college was the last one to walk, so we didn't get started with the festivities until about 3:30 in the afternoon, but that gave Nate & I the chance to relax in the morning! We slept in, got some breakfast, ran some errands ... it was perfect!

When it was time, we headed up to the Spectrum!!

Nate was awesome and snapped a whole bunch of photos!! (He even came down on the floor when I walked - I was so impressed by his dedication!!)

After the ceremony we headed out to my parents house to celebrate with family and friends!!

It was a wonderful day, and now that my grades are in and my diploma is being created, I know that it's officially done!!

I have said it before and I will say it again - I am SO grateful for the opportunity that I had to go to school! My reason for returning for school was purely to pass time until a child came into our home, but I know now that there was a different plan in place for me! I have learned SO much - about myself, about my relationship with Nate, about life and about the world, and I am truly a better person for it! If you're contemplating returning to school but are hesitant for any reason - my advice to you is Just Do It! You will be amazed at the growth you will achieve and satisfaction it will give you!!

Go Aggies!!

It's Here ...

Graduation has arrived!!

I am beyond ecstatic,

very tired,

and somewhat giddy!!

More than anything though, I am super grateful!

I couldn't have done this without the love of my life,

My family, and YOU, my friends!!

The support that I have received has been incredible,

And I am SO grateful!!

Here are some more of the graduation pictures that Toni took!

She is amazing and I'm SO happy with how these turned out!!

Oh, and a shout out to Valarie - she did my hair and made me beautiful!!

( ***Clar overload warning - I couldn't pick a favorite***)

The official Graduation Ceremony is on Saturday, May 5th!

If you're in town and want to come,

let me know & I'll get you the info!

If you don't want to sit through a graduation

but want to join us for treats afterwards

let me know and I'll get you the info!

Again, thank YOU all for your support and your encouragement!

I couldn't have done it without you!!

Love,

Clarissa

... metaphors ...

I was trying to come up with something super clever to title this post ...

You know ...

'the end of the line'

'the path not taken'

In the end, it doesn't really matter what my post was titled,
because they are all just metaphors!

I spent some time up on Campus this weekend with Toni!
Toni is Nate's cousin and I adore EVERYTHING about her!
She was kind enough to tote around the camera
and listen to me spout tales of my college career
and make some photos of me along the way!

The photos are beautiful!
Not of me, because no one is ever really pleased with how they look in photographs,
but because of what the represent
(and okay, I look pretty good in a few of them too).

It's hard for me to believe that it is here -
  This song seems strangely appropriate for how I'm feeling - enjoy!

'Closing Time' by Semisonic

... on my mind ...

Wow! 

Can you feel it?

In less than a month I will be graduated!!

I will have finished up my classes,

Walked across that giant stage

(In heels? I'm practicing ... they're so foreign to me),

And received my diploma ... cover ...

(The diploma will come in the mail later)!

I've got graduation FEVER!

I can't wait! 

I've got the dress,

I've got the cap and gown,

the tassel,

the announcements ...

I took some graduation photos yesterday for a friend

and it made me excited to get mine done and in to get my announcements in the mail!

I'm so ready!!

I've had a super busy, super emotional weekend!

Today, my sister in law and her family boarded a plane and moved away ...

Ironically, she moved to a location that is the halfway point of two of my sisters

that have already moved away (can anyone say LONG vacation?) ...

We have gotten so used to having them here and it was SO hard to say goodbye today ...

 

 It was a whirlwind morning this morning

 (this photo was actually yesterday) 

and I'm sad that I didn't get a photo of Nate with these three kiddos!

We will sure miss them!

Today was Easter Sunday!

We spent the evening with my parents and it was lovely!

I did take some photos, but I'm too lazy to upload the right now, 

but soon, when I'm done with school and have some time ...

then it will be picture over load!

I finish up my practicum this week!

I will ALWAYS have a special spot in my heart for Morningside!!

EVERYONE there has been so nice and welcoming

and I've enjoyed being around the children so much!

I'm going to get to help them out with some subbing here and there,

so I'm glad that I won't be saying goodbye to them just yet!!

Also, it is official! We will be moving!

Not today, not next month, but by August for sure!

Nate is officially in the Manager in Training program, 

which means transfer, 

which means adventure,

which means sadness,

which means ... ahhhh!!!

We are so excited to be done with the college student life!

We have so many wonderful memories and we have had such a great time 

these last several years,

but we are ready to live!

We are SO ready to move on and to see what the world has in store for us!!

Wow! 

This is a lengthy post!

No wonder I couldn't sleep when I tried to go to bed ...

I've got a lot of things swirling around in this brain of mine!

 Maybe now that I've unloaded a bit, I'll be able to get some rest!

Good night!!

 

... in a nutshell ...

Today:

6:30 - wake up and get ready

7:15 - Research Methods

9:00 - sub at preschool

11:00 - review test before turning in

12:00 - psych stats

1:20 - quick lunch

2:00 - work

8:00 - study

11:00 - sleep

Can I please just go back to bed?

... it's coming ...

This campus has been my home and my safety net for so long ...

Graduation is coming ... Change is coming ... I'm excited, I'm nervous, I'm ready!

First Dam

Last week I headed up to First Dam with my parents to get some photos of them!!

 Here are a few of the photos that didn't make my photo blog :)

... 12 years ...

On the 10th of March, we celebrated 12 years as a betrothed couple!!

We kept it low key and spent the day at the movies and went out to dinner at Cafe Sabor!

It was a relaxing day and it was great to spend time together 

that wasn't backed by worries of studying or working! 

(Yay, Spring Break!!)

We didn't take many photos, and the ones we did take didn't turn out that great -

but here are a few anyway!!

I know I've said it before, and I mean it every time,

but I'm so in love with this guy!!

I'm so grateful to be his wife and to have him for my best friend!

... the decision ...

So I've spent a lot of time thinking about this blog and the fact that there is a space limit for photos. 

It's a good thing that it's been Spring Break this week, because it really has taken up a lot of my thought.

I argued with myself and said things like: "ok - just pay the $5 and get on with it!" 

Then I realized that if I did that, I'd be committing to $5 per year for the rest of my blogging life -

 really, it's only $5, what's the big deal?

 But, what if I got busy and didn't post pictures, or what if I got disinterested in blogging, 

or what if blogging went away and my whole blog became obsolete anyway ... 

what if? what if? what if?

Then, another part of me thought that maybe it's just time to stop blogging. 

Really, I don't know who even checks blogs anymore ...

I went back and forth and back and forth and here is what I have decided ...

My blog really isn't for other people. 

Don't get me wrong, I'm happy that those of you who read it care enough about us
to want to keep tabs on us (and that's why I read your blogs, too!),
but it is a quick and easy way for me to document what is going on in our busy lives!
It is a place for me to vent, to share my joy and to let the crazy out ...

So ...
 I'm keeping the blog. I'm going to pay $5 a year to be able to post pictures 

and I'm not going to feel guilty if I don't use all the space that $5 will guarantee me!!

So, here's to many more posts and a lot more pictures!!

Happy Blogging!!

... All Filled Up ...

It's Spring Break!! Yeah Baby!!

I thought I'd update the blog with some photos, and guess what?

Apparently, it is possible to run out of photo space, because I have! 

Because Blogger is partnered with Picasa, and Picasa only allows you 1 GB of photo space, 

I am officially out of photo space, which kind of sucks!!

Now I have to choose whether or not I want to pay for photo space, 

start a new blog, or figure out what I want to do ...

Hmmm ... decisions, decisions ...