Wouldn't have made it with out Him

This past week has been a LONG one.  I was incredibly busy at working and spent evenings either at the office or at home on the computer working on our hospitals budget for 2011.  I am ALMOST done, just a few more items to enter before it is due tonight!  Then the budget reviews begin and the nightmare will begin again, but for now - there is a light at the end of this tunnel.  I would have gone crazy this week had it not been for Luke.  He has been amazing, he always is but he stepped it up this past week.  I'll give you a few examples and let you judge for yourself.

Wednesday

I have my cake decorating class on Wednesday evenings but had 0 time to make the cupcakes required for this weeks lesson.  I needed 6 cupcakes, 3-4 colors of frosting, a filler, and all of my decorating supplies.  Luke made my cupcakes, vanilla pudding for my filling and purchased from the craft section the exact icing I needed for class. If that isn't going above and beyond I'm not sure what is.  

my attempt at cupcakes.

Thursday

On Thursday I worked 7-7 Luke even brought me lunch to work so I didn't have to leave and take time out of my hectic day.  When I got home that evening dinner was waiting on me.  Luke had grilled  chicken, cheesy pasta/broccoli, dinner rolls and salads waiting on me.  We were able to enjoy an evening outside on our deck and playing fetch with the dogs.  He knew exactly how to make a bad day end well.  Although I did have to do a little more work before bed I was much less stressed than I would have been with out his help.

Friday

Friday started off early!  I was at work by about 5:45 and worked until 6pm.  It was another LONG day. Again, Luke had dinner prepared and waiting on me.  We had chicken stuffed with cream cheese and olives, steamed veggies, and of course rolls!  Delicious!  That evening we got to chat with Mary and Andy via Skype.  This was a first for us and also our first time meeting Andy!  They were very patient with us as we gave them a tour of our house and struggled with our new web cam :).  So if anyone wants the tour, we are pretty good at it now.

Saturday

We both worked our butts off. So I guess what I'm saying is I want a little credit for this too.  Luke did the cutting and hard stuff while I did the detail work.  I would measure and hammer the boards into place so they were exactly where I wanted them.  

We went from this

to this....

and finally after a long days work

to this...

excuse Buddy, he somehow manages to creep into every picture.  He likes to be right where the action is.  He thinks he is helping and we don't tell him any different :)  We rewarded ourselves with a nice dinner out and then came back home where I had a few hours of work to do (hopefully this is not going to become a trend).

As you can see Luke had a heck of a week taking care of me! 

5 days till we are on the lake again celebrating Labor Day weekend!  Can't Wait!

-Morgan

Quick Update

Good News for those of you dying to know what we've been up too recently............................... It's time for an Update!

After a successful bathroom update we joined our friends and neighbors for a trip to Landry's Vineyard in Monroe to celebrate Lynsey's Birthday.  We enjoyed the scenery, live music and food.  As well as grape stomping for the ladies!

View from our table

recent harvest

stomping the recent harvest

Thank Lynsey for the pics, I forgot my camera :)

Last week I had work in Birmingham, AL and since Luke is currently on summer break from his classes he was able to get away from the office to join me.  We drove Monday morning and while I worked the remainder of the week Luke golfed.  Which I don't really consider fair, I'll make sure and bring that up next time I want something :)  I finished up my training on Thursday and we headed to Afton, OK (Monkey Island) for a weekend with MoJo (Molly and John) and the Walters (Katie and Philly)!  Of course we had a blast!  Luke and his parents fished while I supervised.

John's big one for the day

Molly's GIANT!

The boys spent the rest of their day on dry land working on their golf game while us girls solved the worlds problems in the comfort of  a/c!  We were sad to leave on Sunday but had work to get back to on Monday!  The countdown to labor day vacation has already begun!

- Morgan

Bathroom Update

Friday when i got home from work this is what our guest bath looked like.

After a weekend of hard work this is what our guest will now enjoy when using the restroom at our house!

P.S. Happy Birthday Molly!  That great family I married into wouldn't be possible with out you!!!  Thanks!

MY School

Last night Luke and I attended The Happening. For those of you not from the LaTech family you are probably clueless, as was I. The Happening is "from my experience" a fund raiser/kick-off event for the LaTech Football Season. In my case it was an excuse to put on a nice dress, heels and get a little dolled up. If you've seen me at work recently you know I now need an excuse for this. I don't do it often.

my handsome date :)

We had a fancy meal, yummy dessert and listened to the president, football coach and Terry Bradshaw speak. Terry Bradshaw was the main event and an amazing speaker, we were rolling on the floor, but he was also very passionate.

our entertainment for the evening.

He spoke of his love for his school, family and friends which got me thinking about my school, family and friends.

My family - well they are the BEST. I couldn't ask for a better group of people, heck, I was even lucky enough to marry into an amazing family. I could go on and on about how great my family is but that really isn't the point of this post. 

My friends, old and new, are an amazing support; they have made me the person I am today. I couldn't imagine life without these people.

And my school! I LOVE my school. Now, just to be clear when I say my school I of course mean the OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY and I DO love this school. I have so many fond memories of Stillwater. The color orange will forever be my favorite color and I will always have a not-so-secret desire to move back. This event last night got me so excited for Football season, I think at one point in the evening I even had goose bumps! That is how excited I was. Living hours upon hours away from Stillwater means not visiting often, so football season is the best time of the year for us to reconnect with our school. We get to watch OSU football each Saturday and it just instantly takes us back to game day in Stillwater. They always show images of campus and of the fans, tailgaters and our extended OSU family. This year we are close enough that we get to go back for Homecoming! I’ve already got my countdown going in my calendar at work!

Listening to Terry Bradshaw last night you could feel his passion, one that I don’t think many people experience in relation to their college, but one that I could relate to. I know that at Oklahoma State other people left with that same bond. There is just something about Stillwater that draws you in, you never want to leave and you are instantly a part of this family. A family bigger and crazier than mine, and I love it. I love everything about it. I hope that each of you has this type of passion for something, it doesn’t have to be your school but that there is something out there that just gets you excited and makes you smile each and every time you think about it. I’ll leave you with some pictures of my school……………

Our BEAUTIFUL Campus.  This is the Library.

the new and improved stadium.

and

the fountain, I loved when they would make the water Orange for Homecoming and other BIG events!

Going Back...to School!

I guess I just don't know what to do with myself now that I'm done and graduated :)  I need to keep busy, in fact I enjoy being busy.  So I have decided that it is time to go back to school!  As of tonight I am officially a Louisiana Tech Student.  I won't be seeking a degree of any type but will leave with a pretty cool cake!  Ok, so this new class I'm taking is classified as a leisure course, but it is on the LaTech Campus, cost money to attend and got me a parking pass, so don't go and rain on my parade.  I am a student!

While I highly doubt that I will ever produce a cake of this caliber, I do think it will be a good way to get me out of the house on Wednesday evenings.  I also have a feeling that this class will get some laughs, considering I can't even ice a cake I think I may be in over my head!  Cross your fingers, say a little prayer for me and keep your eyes peeled, if my cake is worthy it may get a spot on the blog!

Now, those of you feeling bad for Luke that he will be home alone with no one to entertain him - STOP!  He has evening classes each quarter and leaves me home alone (which I secretly LOVE).  Plus, he informed me at lunch today that he and the kids (aka Buddy and Kato) were having a party! 

 I think he'll be survive two hours on his own.  He may even get cake if he's nice.

-Morgan

Year 3 Begins...

Two Years ago TODAY

These girls

and these guys

were busy doing this

followed by a little of this

and this

and quite a bit of this!

Luke and I still remember that day as the best we've had. Thank you again to everyone that was there to help us celebrate.

Year 3 begins today!

8.8.10-8.8.11

-Morgan

The Beginning

Well, I'm not real sure where to begin. The logical spot would of course be the beginning, but with us I'm not even sure when or where that was. There have just been so many new beginnings with us. So I'll go back 2 years ago to the beginning of Mr. and Mrs. Simmering!

Year 18.8.8-8.8.9
The day after our wedding we packed up and headed for Minnesota. We spent a few days in northern MN for our Honeymoon and then headed home to Mankato, MN. We spent our first year FREEZING to death in the great north and LOVED it! We made many trips to Hesston during the year. We also found some time to vacation in St. Lucia and Duluth, MN and took road trips to OK, KS, and IL to see friends get married. In May Luke graduated with his Masters in I/O Psychology, I finished work at Larson Allen and we began the search for a more permanent home. Luke did some contract work for various consulting firms and even did started his own company helping golf courses with their customer satisfaction. I worked MAYB tournaments and we waited.

Honeymoon in Walker, MN

Winter in MN. Luke and Buddy enjoying the ride up at Mount Kato.

My boys enjoying a summer evening in Mankato! Hard to beat!

Year 28.8.9-8.8.10
Around the time of our first anniversary we made a BIG decision, and the waiting was over. Luke would continue on in school to get his PhD. We had discussed this possibility for years. Even before we were married we knew this was something he wanted to do eventually. The timing was perfect, so in October the three of us (Luke, Buddy, and I) packed up our belongings and moved to Ruston.........LOUISIANA! Yes that is right we moved from one extreme to the other, Minnesota to Louisiana! Call us crazy, it's OK, we know we are.
I was blessed to land a job with a GREAT company right after we moved; in fact we hadn't even unpacked when I got the offer! Working at Impact made the move go so much better. We were instantly part of a family! We also added a new member to our family shortly after moving. Kato is our newest family member and spoiled rotten just like her brother Buddy :)
A few months after being in Ruston we made another BIG decision. It was time to buy a house! We looked and looked but never found THE one. We even decided the timing wasn't right and decided to stop looking. However, that same day I was coming home for lunch and noticed that the house across the street from our rental had a for sale sign, I emailed our realtor and had him show it to us that evening. We made an offer that DAY! Three weeks later we moved in and haven't looked back since!
No more had we settled into the house and I get a job offer from a local hospital. A job I applied for and interviewed for months before. I had written the job off and thought I wasn't qualified enough, well lo and behold I got the job and started May. I'm now working for HealthSouth as the hospitals accountant. I LOVE IT. This is the job I went to school for. It is busy and stressful and keeps me on my toes. Who could ask for more?
Now, I know that our lives seem pretty darn perfect, and while that is mostly true we have had our misfortunes. The past few months have been challenging around the Simmering household. We have been riding a pretty big wave of emotions. We found out we were pregnant in early May. Needless to say we were thrilled. I want to be a mommy SOSOSOSOSO badly and the time was finally right. Wrong. I miscarried at seven weeks. We were upset but know that these things happen for a reason. We were given the green light by the Dr. to try again as soon as we were ready. Well again we got good news in early July, we were 7 weeks pregnant and thrilled. Wrong. I miscarried again at 7 weeks. We were lucky enough to be headed home that week any way for a wedding and there was nothing I wanted more than to be with my family in Hesston. The weekend was a perfect time to recoup and move on. We are waiting again for the green light and for that time when we get to bring home our baby, but for now we keep on spoiling our four legged children!
Now back to the good stuff. Life in Louisiana. We LOVE it. Everything about it. The winter - GREAT! The food - Fried! The people - AMAZING! We are LUCKY to have landed in Ruston. Of all the places Luke interviewed Ruston is perfect for us!

Baby Kato!

The babies enjoying their big new backyard!

Home Sweet Home Arcadia Drive!

OK, so beginning to current - there is the story of Mr. and Mrs. Simmering!

I'm not sure what years 3+ will bring but I can't wait to find out..............


-Morgan