Ruth 1:16

"But Ruth replied, "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me." Ruth 1:16-17

This verse has been a theme of our marriage from the beginning. I had it engraved on the inside of Cody's wedding band, and it has been at the top of this blog since I started it shortly after we got engaged. Over the past year, I have been reading this verse every morning and repeating it to myself during the day when I begin to get anxious. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

"I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you." Psalm 32:8

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart; and lean not upon your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your path." Proverbs 3:5-6

"Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?' And I said, 'Here am I. Send me!"

A year ago ago Cody and I got unexpected and unsettling news. Cody works in Information Management for CHRISTUS Health at the corporate office in Dallas. In February 2011, the company announced that they would be moving the corporate office and would announce by the end of the year where that move would be. Great. Ten months of anxiety and uneasiness. We were planning on buying a house and settling into our future in Dallas, and suddenly we had no idea where we would be living (or when exactly we would find out). I am a creature of habit and a slave to routine, and both of those things were uprooted. I was not happy. I'm not going to pretend like I took it well, either. I cried a lot. We panicked, we fought, we stressed. I did not want to leave my home. I was scared! People kept telling me, "It will be an adventure!" and I would reply, "I don't do adventures!" I do planning, I do lists, I do schedules, I do safe.

After a week or two of sleepless nights and days filled with anxiety, I did what I should have done at the beginning. I prayed. I prayed long and hard and fervently. I prayed for peace, I prayed for guidance, and I prayed for comfort. And then I felt like an idiot. Why was I doubting God? He has never let me down. My plans have never been better than His plans. His timing has always been perfect. His will has always been the best. And then I remembered our verse.

Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay.

"Okay, Lord," I said. "I trust you. I am willing and I am ready. If you are going to move Cody, I will follow." From that moment on, we said that wherever CHRISTUS announced the new office would be is where God wanted us and where He would use us. "Bloom where you are planted," my mom would always say. It wasn't easy at times. We wanted to make our future plans, but we couldn't. There were moments when I would start to feel like we were at the mercy of Cody's company and that a few individuals were deciding our fate. Then I would remind my stupid self, God is in control. He is leading this entire process. He is guiding the individuals who are making the decisions. And God is going to lead us where we are supposed to be.

We knew the locations were narrowed down to Houston, San Antonio, Austin, or Dallas. Dallas was out of the question because they were moving the office from Dallas. Austin was announced that it was ruled out early (for reasons I am unaware of). So in our minds, it was between San Antonio or Houston. A few months into the process, Cody and I were almost 100% convinced they would choose Houston and we would be moving. We were already looking at where we wanted to live, what apartments we would live in first, and which school districts we preferred. We were confident in this being the case because roughly 40 individuals work from the Dallas office, 100 at the San Antonio office, and 650 in the Houston office. It is more feasible to move 140 to Houston than 750 to Dallas or San Antonio, right? Right. So, Houston it is. We still didn't want to leave our home, but we trusted God and His plan for our lives. And we waited.

The end of the year came, and no announcement was made. They told us they would announce the relocation in January. Are you kidding me!? We waited all year and still didn't know. I graduated from college, and I couldn't start my career until we knew where we would be living. My anxiety rose, but still I trusted God. January started moving along, and still no announcement. Then, on Wednesday of this week, Cody was instructed that a meeting was scheduled at 10 am on Friday to announce the move. We were excited and apprehensive. I was thankful to finally have an answer, and anxious to hear what it would be. On Friday, when Cody left for the meeting, I told him, "Text me if you have something text-worthy. Call me if it is big." (I was going to be at work, too.) I prayed all morning long. I prayed for peace and I prayed for answers. I prayed that God would use us wherever He sent us. I prayed that our families would be okay with the move. 10 am rolled around, and I knew Cody would be in his meeting. I drove to work (I was scheduled in at 10:30), and prayed out loud during my entire drive. I told God, "You know I am not a strong person, but I trust that you know what you're doing. I will follow wherever you send us, and I will do what You want me to do." I was calculating in my head around when I thought Cody might be able to tell me the news. When I got to work and got settled in, I grabbed my phone and saw that I had 1 text message. "There's no way this is already Cody," I said to myself. I unlocked the phone and sure enough it was from him. One text popped up on the screen, with one word on it:

"Dallas."

I was in shock! I didn't know what it meant, I didn't know all the details, but I was so happy. All I felt was absolute certainty that it was God's will, and we would honor Him. We got to stay in our home, but more importantly, we got to pick up our lives again and start our future right away. We didn't have to pack, wait to move, move, wait for me to get a job at our new location, find a new church, or make new friends. We find it almost funny that after a year of turmoil, we got to a place where we were totally ready to go where the Lord called us, and He told us to stay right where we were! But I guess that just means we've been where we were supposed to be all along. I still don't understand why they chose Dallas. They are moving roughly 800 people to a new location in Irving. Out of 700 IM employees that are affected, only 4 already lived in Dallas (Cody being one of them). We never even humored ourselves with the thought that they might choose Dallas over the other two cities, but they did.

So look out, Dallas! The Cooks are here to stay!!

A Much-Needed Update

Hello, folks! So much has happened since the last time I updated. I'm hoping to have the time to keep this up more regularly now. But before that, I have to tell you what's been going on with the Cook Clan.

July 2011:

Took a trip to Galveston, Tx with Cody's family and it was wonderful and relaxing. Games were played, sun was soaked, fun was had. I'm already ready to go back.

As soon as we got back from Galveston, my sister had her second baby. Eli Reid Berry.

And I got a lot of cuddle-time with that sweet angel.

December 16, 2011:

I FINALLY GRADUATED COLLEGE!

This was something I have been working on for 6 1/2 years. When Cody and I chose to get married before I graduated, we encountered many naysayers who said I would never finish school. Well, here you go, Naysayers! I graduated Summa Cum Laude, with a final GPA of 3.961, and I worked hard for it. I sacrificed a lot for it. Were the first 2 years of our marriage hard because of school? Yes. We couldn't do whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted, because I was always studying or doing school work. I worked part-time, which meant we were on a significantly tighter budget for things. It also meant we have had to wait longer for a house, a family, and our "future."

But we did it. It was our life, and I firmly believe it was what God chose for us. We learned so much about each other, the importance of quality time, and our finances during this time. Things I truly don't think we would have learned otherwise. So thank you God, for your unfailing love and grace! And thank you Cody, for your love and support!

Christmas 2011 was wonderful as always. Christmas is my absolute favorite time of the year (as if I even have to say that, everyone knows this about me)... It was even more celebratory because of the relief and peace I felt after graduating. We spent many days baking, shopping, and spending time together leading up to a fun Christmas day.

The day after Christmas Cody and I made the drive from Dallas to Houston to meet up with Cody's family. Then we caught a plane from Houston to Dallas to go to...

DISNEY WORLD!

I had never been to Disney World. Cody and I wanted to go after we got married, but work and school interfered. It was as wonderful and magical as I had imagined. We had a blast and brought in the New Year with fun and style. Well, sort of.

We spent New Years Eve at Universal Studios, dancing madly in the street to a cover band, while hoards of people looked at us like we were crazy. And we had a blast.

We weren't ready to leave.

And now? Now we're waiting. Enjoying each other, enjoying the new extra-time we're getting to spend together. God is moving in our lives, and we are being still, waiting to see where he leads us. But that is for another post...

21 Months

There came a moment this Sunday when I thought to myself "I guess this is what it means when they say the honeymoon is over."

We didn't even make it two years.

But let me back track a bit.

Cody and I moved in to our apartment in September 2009. (He actually moved in July, but I didn't live there until after we got married). I love our first home, we have made it very cozy and have a lot of memories here.. but there are plenty of things I don't like.

1. We live in a cave! Our apartment gets zero direct sunlight, which is a problem if you know me because I LOVE SUN! Sunlight is the best accessory in a house in my opinion. We get none.
2. Our view is the back side of garage. Seriously, that is all we see when we look out our windows - about 10 feet of grass/dirt and then a big garage (actually 5 garages in a row).
3. No storage space! 825 sqft. of living space is fine, I have never had that feeling of "Oh my gosh we are living on top of each other I have to leave before you drive me crazy!" that people talk about. Maybe because I actually love my husband and we get along really well? But we have no place to put anything! It is like playing Tetris any time I want to get a pot or skillet out in the kitchen to cook.
4. Last and certainly not least - the bathtub. I have hated our bathtub since I moved in. It is disgusting and stained and just flat out not pretty. I clean it every week, so it's clean, but it definitely doesn't look clean. And we've tried multiple times to get it to look clean - scrubbing bubbles, magic eraser(s), comet + a rag, scrubbing bubbles + steel wool, pouring bleach in the tub and letting it sit.. nothing. works.

So this weekend I was determined to get it clean. I was tired of not taking baths because the idea sicked me out, and I hated having to explain it every time someone came over: "I promise, it is clean, it just looks disgusting..."

So Sunday we went to Wal-Mart and got a few supplies: Yellow cleaning gloves, steel wool, more magic erasers, bleach, and comet (after we got home and set in, I started to wish we had gotten masks too).. We got home, stripped down, and set in.

So there we were, about an hour in to our project, on a Sunday afternoon, delirious from the fumes, yellow gloves on hands, elbow deep in comet, in our underwear, precariously perched on/in/around the tub, and it hit me:

"I guess this is what it means when they say the honeymoon is over."

And I sat there while we giggled, coughed, laughed, groaned, praising each other for our hard work, and I thought how much better this was. How happy I am. How I would take tub-cleaning with my husband on a Sunday over just about anything else. If this is post-honeymoon phase... I'll take it!

And we just so happened to make a really good team.

Before:

Disgusting, right!? I'm sure you're asking yourself how I lived and showered in that for so long, huh? I don't know either.

AFTER:

Sooo so so so much better. I didn't even know it was possible!! It only took 2 hours (!!), but we finally got it white again. Comet & steel wool, people! Just in case you ever need to know. I will swear by it now.

I Thought We Only Came for Mouthwash!

Cody and I were at Dollar Tree this past week picking up some party supplies for my sister's birthday when I saw the sweetest event unfold before me (and caught a glimpse of our future)...

We were walking to the checkout when this little old lady turned the corner, her arms full of items, to meet her husband at the register, when he exclaimed (playfully):

"I thought we only came for mouthwash!?"

(this is the part where I saw our future... because that is going to be what I hear for the rest of my life!)

So they put all of the items (mouthwash included) on the counter and we were in line behind them. The cashier told them the total, $19.16, when the little old man exclaimed:

"That was when I was born! Can you believe it!? $19.16! That was when I was born!"

(at this point I am grinning ear-to-ear while calculating in my head... 95 years old!!)

He turns to his wife and says again:

"Can you believe it!? Our total was $19.16! That was when I was born! Can you believe it!?"

It was like that was the most exciting thing that could have happened to him that day! They were giggling, I was grinning, and all he kept saying was "Can you believe it!?"

I watched them as they walked out, then paused at the curb to hold on to each other to make the step down into the street. They kept holding hands as they walked to their car, Cody and I weren't far behind them.

I just kept watching them as they waddled down the parking lot, holding hands. He put the bag in the back and helped his wife into the car. The entire time I am just soaking up the sweetness of it all.

Then my hilarious, lovable husband finally chimed in with a comment that is so him...

While I was still watching them and taking it all in, he said:

"Ninety-five years old, Wow! (pause)... Should they still be driving? Let's get on the road before they do..."

What's IN the Box!?

Yesterday, something very exciting happened!!

But let me start at the beginning:

Cody and I are very in to budgeting. Hence, my budget blog! We are newlyweds and we have learned a lot about money, what we want our future to be like, and what it will take to get us there! So, we save a lot, and say "no" a lot, and "make do" a lot.

But sometimes, you need things. Not want but neeed. School is winding down and speeding up all at the same time. I originally thought I would be graduating this Summer. Well, it will be extended 1 semester longer, and I will graduate with my Bachelors this December!

BUT, this Summer I am also starting towards my Masters! Scary and thrilling at the same time. Dec 2012 I will have my MBA and be on my way! Done with school forever!

So what does that have to do with yesterday and budgeting and blessings and fun!?

Well, that's where this box comes in to play!

Cody and I went a picked up this baby yesterday. I couldn't wait to get home and open it!

And what did I see when I did?!

A brand spanking new MacBook Pro!!

My 5 year old MacBook was on the last little bit of its life. It was unreliable and I couldn't count on using it for school anymore. BUT! I couldn't justify buying a new one. Sure, I needed one for school. Especially since my graduate classes start this Summer, but we just couldn't fit it into our budget.

So instead, I was blessed with this most generous gift from my Mother-In-Law! I cried.. but who is surprised!? I am so thankful! I don't feel like I deserve such a huge gift but I love it and I will put it to such great use!

Thank you Thank you Thank you!!

I still can't believe it!

The Big "V"

This weekend, Code and I were driving and I was talking (rambling) about Valentine's Day, how wonderful I think it is, and how it was one of my favorite holidays. I hadn't gotten too many sentences in, when he interjected, "Is there a holiday that isn't your favorite?!" Well, no. I don't think there is! But I still think Valentine's Day is wonderful, and I still take any opportunity (and make any excuse) to walk down the Valentine aisle at Target. It's just so joyful!

So I couldn't let V pass without making my blog festive, could I?
I didn't think so either.

The only exciting thing going on in the Cook household right now is... our newly shampooed carpets! And the highs (and lows) of potty training Macy. Those two topics are inversely related, obviously. We decided that cleaning our carpets might entice Mace-Face to expedite the training process, so we rented a RugDoc on Sunday and set to work. Our carpets are fresh and clean! But that also meant getting all of the stuff (junk) off of our floor so we could clean. I decided this was a good time to do some MUCH needed organizing. We are both generally very clean and orderly people, but after last semester of taking 5 classes, and Code starting his new position in the company, we just never found the time to really deep clean.

So! Yesterday I had a rare afternoon off, after working 6:30-noon, so I swung by Target (are you sensing a trend here? Target is such a constant in my life) to get a couple of Rubbermaid containers, and I set off to 5 hours of cleaning/organizing! It was actually quite therapeutic.

This is all of the stuff that we picked up off the floor to clean the carpet... Yikes!
Our bed is under there somewhere...

And our closet has looked like this for a few months. There is little storage space in our apartment, and I have so many crafting supplies! I turned 6 containers worth of stuff into 3! That's a great achievement if you as me.

Done!! So clean, so much space. We can walk into our closet!

I think my mind is clearer! I want to change my clothes three times a day now that I enjoy walking into our closet. I think I find too much excitement in the little things... like simple organization!


Oh, and back to that potty training thing. Macy is such a smart little puppy! And she is making huge achievements the past few days. I feel like such a proud mother, and she's just my pup. Imagine how I'll be when I actually have a baby! I can hear Cody praising her, and talking to her, and loving on her. It feels my heart with Joy! I am married to such a sweet man, even if he is rough around the edges. Literally. I'm pretty sure he's growing a beard...

Unbroken

It is no secret that I am an avid reader. I have always preferred to read over doing, well, almost anything else. Two birthdays ago I got a kindle and it was probably the best give I've ever received. I don't go anywhere without my kindle now.. and I hate to admit that I have been that idiot that tries to squeeze in a page of reading while sitting at a red light, or in a drive thru...

However, I still come across books that I just have to own! If I had my way, my house would look like a library! On the first day of class, my Employment Law professor recommended this book to us, and I can't pass up a good recommendation! So now, I am currently reading (and owning):


I am so excited about this book! I recommend it to anyone who might stumble upon this blog. Please, read it so that I can talk about it with you! And so that I can leave Cody alone, because I keep talking about it and he's gracious enough to nod and smile and say, "Oh, yeah? That's neat, baby." Even though he has no idea what I'm talking about. So come on! Read it!