Time for the yearly blog post! When I first created this
blog I really thought I would utilize it more frequently, but as you can tell,
I was wrong. Nevertheless, as few and far between as my blog entries are, I
still think I will have them to look back on one day as memories for each
season in my life. My last blog entry included mine and Blake’s engagement, our
family vacation to Michigan, and Hailey and Tyler’s move to Austin. Since
August 2014 a lot has happened! I will attempt to update in chronological order
and hit the high points…
On September 25, 2014 Hailey and I both found out that we
were accepted to Texas A&M Health Science Center’s first Family Nurse
Practitioner program in Bryan/College Station. We were ecstatic! Hailey and I
attended A&M for our undergrad in College Station before graduating from
Texas Tech’s nursing school in 2012. Our fellow aggies can only understand our
excitement to be back at A&M for grad school! What a dream! In November we
attended orientation together and were set to start school in January! Things
are a little bit different this time around seeing as how Hailey and I live
three hours away from each other and are completing our grad school education
online, but it is still fun and encouraging to be going to FNP School with my
first “other half”!
December came and last minute wedding planning and
Christmas were quickly approaching! Blake and I spent Christmas in Abilene with
both of our families since our wedding was right around the corner. Blake’s
mom, dad, brother, and sister-in-law were gracious enough to come to Abilene
for the last few days of December to celebrate Christmas with us and help with
last minute wedding plans. We were so grateful for their willingness to come to
Abilene on our behalf despite the icy road conditions for the week leading up
to our big day! We had a great first Christmas as an almost married couple!
Christmas with the Foresters
January 3, 2015 was the day Blake and I said “I Do” forever!
What a memorable day it will always be. It was relaxing, the ice had finally
decided to clear on the morning we woke up for our special day, and we were
surrounded by our closest family and friends for one of the most exciting times
of our lives. Everything was perfect and we could not have asked for anything
more! We are so thankful and grateful to everyone who attended our wedding and
everyone who has supported us in our marriage. Blake and I love being able to
do life together in marriage and it has been such a sweet time of growth for us
both.
My first "other half" and Matron of Honor
Foresters
Conders
Our mommas love each other
After our wedding Blake and I took off to Costa Rica for our
honeymoon! We stayed at the Westin Golf and Spa resort in Playa Conchal, and we
had a great, relaxing honeymoon. It was a nice change from the icy weather of
Texas in January. We zip lined through the Costa Rica forest, rode horses on
the beach and through the hills next to our resort, and did a whole lot of
relaxing and hanging out by the pool.
"We're Married!"
The view at the top of our horseback riding adventure
Zip lining
The week after we returned from our honeymoon it was time to
start my first semester of FNP school. Between learning to balance work life,
school life, and family life, it has been a fast and furious eight months since
we wed. I (along with Hailey) have completed my first two semesters of grad school and I will begin
my third semester on August 31st. I can’t wait to complete FNP school and begin
this new journey in my career one day soon.
In July the fam took our summer vacation to Maine! My
parents, Weston, Hailey and Tyler, my grandparents, and Blake and myself all
spent a week in cooler weather enjoying Maine. We completed a ropes course, had
a lobster boil, played games, ate lots of wonderful food, and did lots of
shopping while town hopping along the Maine coast. It is always nice to take a
break from the hustle and bustle of life and spend a little quality time with
the family (mine and Blake’s favorite).
Selfie stick success
We had lobster races before we cooked them
Mmm the most wonderful lobster boil
The view from our back porch
August 19th marked Hailey and Tyler’s one-year
anniversary of living and working in Austin! We sure do miss having Hailey and
Ty in Abilene, but they are doing great things in Austin. Gateway church in
Austin (where Ty works) is continually growing and they are going to be opening
their 3rd campus in the Austin community very soon. We are so proud
of Hailey and Ty for everything they do, but we can’t wait to (hopefully) have
them back in Abilene one day!
Our nephew dog Django showing off his tricks
Lastly, Weston starts his senior year of high school
tomorrow! My how the time has flown! It feels like it was just yesterday when W
was headed off to kindergarten with “Bunny” in his backpack. We are so proud of
W and how grown up and mature he is. He is such a kind hearted and
compassionate young man with lots of goals and dreams already set to
accomplish. W completed a mission trip this summer and also worked at Camp
Courage for children who have suffered the loss of a loved one. He has already
turned in several college applications and is well on his way to academic
greatness!
This blog entry has been our last year in a nutshell (a very
small nutshell…there were lots of weekend trips and details I had to leave out
for the sake of this entry not taking forever to read and write). Maybe I will be
able to keep up with our adventures a little better over the next year :)
Blessings,
Holley
