Ruby

Ruby is Jacob's baby. No lie.

His single most prized possession.

She is priceless to him. No amount of money could ever buy her.

Okay, unless it was a butt load of money, but I'm sure you could buy tons just like her for that amount.

Anywho. Ruby is a 1966 Ford LTD Galaxy. She was originally purchased but Jacob's great grandfather. When he wasn't able to drive anymore, Jacob's grandfather purchased it, but then it just sat.  When Jacob graduated high school he went to Salt Lake for a semester at LDSBC and when he came home, that's when he got Ruby. At this point he was with out a car, and his Dad told him if you fix her up you can drive her. If you don't know, my husband is a mechanic. It's not only a job, a hobby, but also a passion of his. He gained this by fixing up Ruby. I'm probably not telling this all correctly, but you get the point. She's kind of a big deal. In fact, the plan was to drive away from our reception in her. But if she was going to make it to Katy she needed some work. So a few months before the wedding Jacob started working on her. He finally finished a week or two before we got married. But while he was driving around she died. (Really it worked out though because it poured and poured and poured when we got married and that would NOT have been a good car to be driving) For a while she sat in front of his parent's house. And then they took her to a friend to get repaired. Well she's finally home. Let me tell you, Jacob and his Dad are like kids again. And you should see the way they both grin ear to ear when talking about her. It's seriously priceless!!

Ruby's back, and we couldn't be happier :)

This is an older picture, but it turns out it's the only one I have of her.

Our first ride together in her since she's been back. 

Love that boy. And that smile. And 2 years ago I wouldn't have admitted it but I love that car too.

And finally, the text I got from Jacob's Dad the first weekend she was home. I could NOT stop laughing :)

My Latest Project

I've been getting a crafting itch. Finally I had a weekend off and I convinced Jacob to go to some garage sales with me. I didn't find everything I wanted, and Jacob got more than he planned on. But it was a blast! And the very first house I found the item on the top of my list for a steal!!

You see I've had some twine pined to my wall since December. And yes, I do still have Christmas cards up, don't judge, there's wedding invitations on there too. But I've been wanting a frame to display them all for quite some time. Actually I've been wanting it since our wedding, but there was so much going on already I didn't even bother. Anyways, I finally got a frame. They were only asking $2 but Jacob gave them $3. Either way it's a steal, I would have paid $25-$30 with a coupon at Hobby Lobby. 

$3 for the frame

$1 for the twine

$2 for the clothespins

Displaying memories of friends and family = priceless!

Cheesy, I know.

I must say I'm quite proud of the end result :)

Harrison William Seckinger

My newest nephew was born a few weeks ago in the wee hours of the morning.

May 12th, 2015 at 3:32am

It's getting harder and harder to keep up with all these birthdays ;) But I sure do love all the nieces and nephews :) Fortunately I only live an hour and a half away. So I've already been to Katy a few times to get some snuggles in with this sweet, little guy. Let me tell you, I am so in love already!!

The first time I got to see him was just 2 days after he was born. We were hoping they would be released from the hospital around noon. Finally around 4pm they got home. So I was able to get a few snuggles in before I had to drive back home.

My last visit was about a week later and much more brief. I got off work at 3 and drove down there for a girl's night aka Mommy's first night away. We went to dinner and then I drove back to CS. But again, I got some sweet newborn snuggles and got a chance to hang out with my mom and sisters. I sure do love my growing family, and I am so grateful I'm only a short drive away!

Count Your Many Blessings...

I've always been a very optimistic person. But lately I haven't been feeling that way. I think that's why I haven't blogged in a while. I know blogs don't have to be happy, but it's just makes life more happy. But the truth is life is hard sometimes. Really hard. I guess right now I've just been struggling a lot. None the less, there have been plenty of happy moments. And I think especially with how I'm feeling right now that it's time to focus on those… because it really does just make life more happy!

WE FOUND OUR PUPS!

We went to Katy last friday. On Saturday morning we woke up to the dogs gone. No where to be seen. And on top of that neither of them had tags on. Perfect :P… So we drove around all the neighborhoods surrounding my parents. If you're not familiar with Katy, it's suburban land. House after house after house. We drove around for an hour or so and they were no where. And we called all the local shelters, and they were all closed for the weekend. Don't get me wrong, I was heartbroken. But I really didn't want to spend my whole weekend crying over not knowing where the dogs were. So Jacob and I went to the batting cages with my brother Michael. Then we met up with our other 2 brothers to help the oldest move a few things. Then I went to run some errands with my sister. And then we all got back together for dinner at my parents. Saturday night I got on Facebook and started searching for local FB groups with lost and found info. And that's where I found Chewie. Good news right? Well, yes and no. I found one, but that meant they were separated. So I messaged the woman who posted and kept looking for Leia. And then I found her picture. And there was a phone number. So we called… And they said she got into their backyard in the morning and out by the afternoon. So I sent all the pages I found a message and picture of Leia so they could share. Worried some more. And finally fell asleep. Sunday morning we got a call from a family who had Leia. Turns out she was about a mile and a half from my parents. We still hadn't heard back from the family who had Chewie but we knew he was safe. So Leia stayed at the house with my brother (you think we were letting that dog out of anyones sight? you're crazy!) And we took my niece to the pool. As we were getting ready to leave the pool, we finally got a call about Chewie. Turns out he was one street over from where Leia was. I can't tell you how thankful we are to have both dogs back. How worried I was that we would have to leave without them. And how blessed we were to have so many people looking out for us. The people who originally found Leia called us later on Sunday to check up on her. The neighbor of the lady who had Chewie called us Sunday morning trying to help us get in contact with them. And plenty of Facebook friends sharing the dogs pictures and some advice.

They were so happy to be back together, they slept cuddled up most of the way home.

BABY BELLA

I'll be honest, it's no secret that I'm baby hungry. Fortunately, one of my nieces lives less than a mile from me. This past semester I've been watching her on Thursdays when Dad has class and Mom and meetings for work. A few weeks ago we even went on a day trip to see Grandma in Katy. I was so exhausted afterwards! And last weekend her and Dad were in Katy while Jacob and I were too. She was having a bit of a rough weekend. But on the bright side whenever Dad wasn't in sight I was her go to person. Sweet, I love baby cuddles ;) Anywho… here's some cute pictures of her :)

Before and after our trip to Katy. She seriously wore me out!

The cutest little bunny around. Who can't stand to have anything on her head, hence the yanking of the ears...

Going swimming with Aunt Cyndi and Uncle Jacob

I can totally pull it off! …Sorry baby hungry speaking ;)

MY LOVE

I'm seriously about ready to throw my hands in the air and give up. Thankfully I have the sweetest support system. One of my favorite things about marriage is that I don't have to take on the world alone. I've got Jacob by my side. And sometimes I swear he knows me better than I know myself. Really it's all just little things. But I feel like he does so much for me. I'm just grateful for his support and strength. He is so good to me. And he even puts up with me when I want to take pictures. Like our wild flower shoot a few weeks ago :)

Although the only way I get away with it, is if I allow some silly pictures. Too many 'cute' ones makes him grumpy...

He's a hit with the kids too ;)

Well that's us. I didn't think I had it in me. But my not so optimistic self still came up with a pretty optimistic post. Life is tough. And maybe I dwell on the rough stuff more than I should. I know I worry too much. But there really is so much to be grateful for. And when I count my blessings, it's hard not to be happy.

March 2014

March was a pretty busy month, which is why it's been so long since I've blogged. Things have finally slowed down some, so here's my update...

At the beginning of March we drove to Utah for Stephen and Gina's wedding. It was a great trip overall. And the weather in St. George was perfect! But I am seriously not looking forward to that drive again this summer.

We stopped by the Grand Canyon on the way there.

And our trip overlapped my birthday. I got my Cafe Rio fix in, did plenty of shopping, and got pretty spoiled by Jacob and his family. So much love from everyone, it was fantastic.

And the day after my birthday was Stephen and Gina's wedding day. Did I mention the weather was perfect?

We love these two so much and are so happy for them :)

The following weekend was their reception and ring ceremony here in College Station.

So… I aspire to be super creative and crafty, but I'm not there yet.

But I work with what I can and I was proud of the outcome of the reception.

I just so happen to be watching my sister inlaw Kiya as she put together Gina's bouquet and wrapped it. And this was how it turned out when I tried to mimic it. I'd say it looks good! Lol.

And thanks to my other sister inlaw, Kristy, for making these cute banners, it made decorating so easy. Seriously, she's the best! She made some for my wedding too, and I just love them!

Gina (the bride), Gina's friend, and Janice (our mother inlaw) made all these paper flowers. And then Gina, Janice, and I painted them. They turned out so cute!! And they were the perfect decorations.

One of the really special things about the wedding is that Stephen and Gina got married in the St. George Temple. Well so did my inlaws, and my mother inlaw's parents, and one of their parents, and one more generation were all sealed in the St. George Temple. It was a very special weekend, I'm so grateful I got to be apart of it.

Exchanging rings. Seriously these two just brighten up any room they're in. They're so fun to be around. I feel pretty lucky to have them as family.

And of course I gotta' throw in a picture of us ;)

And then the following day, we went to Katy to celebrate my niece's first birthday, and also my oldest brother's birthday.

Baby Bella is 1!!

She had fun smashing her cake… not so much having to get cleaned up afterwards.

It's funny how when kids are younger, sometimes it seems like they like tags or boxes more than the actual presents. Haha.

Brody. What a cutie!

And now for a bunch of random pictures on my phone… Sorry it's probably boring. But more than anything this blog is just to have a record for myself since I don't do a very good job of journaling...

After her birthday, the next time I babysat Bella she was wearing the outfit I got her so I tried to get a picture of how cute she looked. But she just wanted my phone...

And then she just wanted the bow off her head. Oh well. Haha.

I love that my brother and his family live so close now. Like less than a mile away from my house. It's so fun to be around them. And she's just such a cute kid!!

This is how she started down the slide.

… And this is how she ended. 

I love Katy… But I'm so glad I don't live there. It's kind of hard to see but both sides of the highway are stop and go. This is Katy. Not Houston. Katy. Just let that sink in. Okay, maybe I'm just too used to living in a smaller town, but I really don't miss this.

This is what happened when I first tried to take Chewie on a walk. We like to call him our special puppy. Don't worry, he loves walks now. It just took him some getting used to. Lol.

And this is how much he's grown. He's almost the same size of Leia. I never thought I'd have a 'big' dog… Let alone two. Haha.

Sometimes I like to take selfies...

One of my favorite things is when my husband adds on to my love notes.

Also this is our current favorite song.

Listen to it here. 

And that's about it. I hope you somewhat enjoyed this and it wasn't completely boring :P