Valentine's Day 2012

WARNING: A POST WITH PICTURES!!!

This morning I got up and my sweet husband made me coffee.  Truth be told, he does this everyday, but I want to celebrate the sweet things he does!  So he made my coffee, started my car, and helped me pick out my clothes.  Off to work I went!  While I was at work I recieved a beautiful bouquet of flowers from FTD.  FTD delivers flowers in a box which is super cool!

In the box were a dozen red roses and a sweet card.  I put them in a vase I had at work...

And then I took pictures so that all 2 of my followers/readers would see my pretty flowers.



After work Alan got his Valentine's Day gift....

Note the little guy on the bottom...



This evening we ran a few errands and went to the auditions for Noises Off at the theater.  It's gonna be a great show!  Then we came home and had a bowl of cereal (the stuff of romance here...) and took some pictures on my phone of ourselves.  They aren't very good -- but here they are:

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

(Francis update: He's back at St. Pat's (his nursing home) and slept most of the day.  Please continue to pray for him!)

Updates on Francis

I know I haven't updated as I said I would, but I am now.

Francis slowly improved from last Friday through last Thursday when they finally sent him back to his nursing.  He was still on an IV drip of antibiotics, but considering his other needs they discharged him and sent him 'home' in hopes of avoiding secondary infections.  All was well until Saturday morning when we got a call that he went back to the hospital. 

His leg had swollen and the staff at St. Pat's (his home) decided to take him in.  When he arrived they were giong to run smoe tests, but the machines were broken so they settled for blood tests anticipating another infection.  I just got an email from Alan, however that as of today (it's afternoon in Ireland) they suspect a blood clot. 

Alan says Francis is sleeping alot and having trouble controlling his body temperature.  Please pray for Francis.  Please pray that his body will heal and that the Dr's will have wisdom.  Please pray for peace for the family as they deal with this second blow in such a short time.  Please pray for Alan as we are not sure that USCIS would allow us to travel if we needed to!  We neeeed that VISA!  Above all else, pray God's will be done.

Thanks friends!

Prayer requests

I know - it's been over a week and no blog!  And no pictures....I'm still in blogger failure...sigh.

I do, however have a prayer request...well, I could load you down with tons - but tonight, I'll just pick one.

We just got word from Alan's Dad that his brother, Francis has gotten sick. 

Francis was born with a hole in his heart and along with other special needs.  As a young child he had meningitis which only served to 'worsen' his previous needs.  He wasn't expected to live long, but as always, God was (and is) in control.  Frankie is now 35.  In the last month or so he has developed a rash on his arm, begun to sleep more, and has eaten less.  Earlier this week Alan's Dad and Aunt took Frankie to the cardiologist to see what was up.  The cardiologist basically said that it was just 'the next phase in an adult with a hole in his heart'.  He said Frankie could live a year, 5 years, 10 years - who knew.  We were pleased with this news, just realized that he would sleep more and eat less.

Then today we got word from Alan's Dad that Frankie had 'taken a turn for the worse' and they were at the hospital near Frankie's nursing home.  Alan called his Dad who let us know that the doctors had things under control.  They were running tests and hoped to have a cause soon.  About 5 minutes after the call we heard from his Dad again.  Seems Frankie's kidney's aren't working.  The doctors are working to come up with the best plan for Frankie at this time. 

Please keep Frankie and all of the Family in your prayers.  Please pray specifically that Frankie's body will function the way it was meant to.  Please pray that the doctors and nurses caring for him have wisdom and determine the best course of action.  Please pray for Alan's Dad, Aunt, and Uncle who are at the hospital with Frankie right now - that they will have peace, wisdom, and will be able to get themselves some rest.  Finally, please pray for Alan and his brother Joe, neither of which are close to home right now.  Pray for their peace. 

Thanks for your prayers and we will keep you posted as we find out more.  :)

Ephesians 3:20-21
"Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly beyond all that we ask or think....to HIM be glory....forever and ever. Amen"

Things about me

I admit it - I'm a blogstalker.  I stalk blogs from friends blogs.  Tonight while I was blog-stalking I found this little survey...thought I'd add it to my blog too. :)

 

 

1. What is your favorite thing to search for on Pinterest? (Assuming you use Pinterest. Which you should if you don't.)

Clothing and food

 

2. Have you ever been outside of the country you currently live in? Where?

I have been to Canada, Mexica (well, sorta), and Ireland.  I went to England once on the way to Ireland...I even have a passport stamp there (does that count as going there?)

 

3. If you could speak a second language fluently, what would it be?

Well, I use sign language.  I'd love to be considered fluent (to know what anyone is saying at any time.)  I'd also love to speak French, and since I live in Texas, Spanish probably wouldn't be a bad idea.

 

4. Are you a cat person or a dog person?

Either.  Alan, however, is more of a dog person (and I use that term loosely where he's concerned!)

 

5. What type of house is your favorite? (colonial, ranch, tudor, etc.)

um...I just like the one I have now...whatever it is, I'm good with that!

 

6. What is your dream car?

Red Thunderbird (the ones made while I was in college...someday people...)

 

7. If you were vacationing 10 hours away - would you drive or fly? (and not because of money)

Fly.  You get there faster.

 

8. Would you relive high school if you could? What would you do differently?

While that was a simpler time in life (eat and live on your parents' dollar, I wouldn't do it again.  I think I made it through pretty well the first time.  What would I do different?  Probably not much...

 

9. If your significant other had an accent - what would it be?

Irish...oh wait -- he really does have one!

 

10. Would you rather not shower for a week or not brush your teeth for a week? Ew! :)

I'd rather neither, but if I had to choose, probably teeth...

 

11. Would you rather have all boys or all girls?

I hear all boys is easier in the teen years - but whatever I get I will be perfectly fine with...I just hope they come one at a time! :)

 

There you have it -- a little blog-stalking survey, complete.

This week...

Let the record stand - I'm still a bad blogger -- but I'm trying!

Monday we were off school.  Can I tell you how wonderful it is to sleep until your body wakes up?!  Can I tell you how un-wonderful it is when you wake up at 8:30 and your husband has NO intentions of getting up?! :) 

When we finally got up we made breakfast burritos, nothing special - just eggs and onions on torillas - but yummy!  (insert bad blogger statement: I have no pictures of this).

We put on a roast and Mom, Allison, and Thomas came over for lunch.  It was the first time they'd seen the house so it was fun for them to come visit.  Thomas brought me some roses so we got to use the vase we were given as a wedding gift.  (Wedding gifts are wonderful!)  We had a great time eating, showing off our house and then watching Tom and Jerry with Thomas.  I love that kid's laugh!  (You guessed it - No pictures)  I do, however, have a picture on my phone of what I did with the flowers as they started to die. I pulled off all the petals and filled the vase with the petals (like potpourri).  As a matter of fact, I thought it looked so good that I posted it to pinterest.  They don't look nearly as pretty at day 3 - but it would be a stunning centerpiece for a wedding (and maybe cheaper since it's just petals?).  I will post it at some point.

After they left I ran a friend to the store and then Philip came over.  We sat and drank coffee and ate dinner and looked at OLD pictures (like 2003 and on).  It was fun for him to come over again and I have learned I LOVE having company -- however, I must improve at this pictre taking thing! :)

As the week progressed I worked and Alan worked on the house with our friend Jonathon.  It's almost completely painted on the outside and the final closet fixtures were hung this week along with the back storm door.  It's so fun to see it all come together!

For those who actually read this: We are still waiting on visa news.  We haven't heard anything since we did fingerprinting just after Christmas.  I had a dream (nightmare) last night that we tried to travel to Ireland but didn't have visa stuff complete.  They let us fly there, and I woke up before we came back...not fun.

We are hoping February will be the magic month, but we will see! :)

I suppose that's all I've got for this week.  I wish I could give you much more interesting information (and pictures...) but this is what I've got! 

I pray you all have a great week and are immeasurably blessed by our amazing Lord!

Welcome 2012

It's official:
it's 2012.
I've been married almost 4 months.
I'm a blogging failure!


I'm going to try to remedy that in 2012 - but let's be honest.
You aren't holding your breath (are you?!)


Let's run a quick cap:
September 17, 2011 - Alan and I get married!  It was quite honestly the most wonderful day!  Stress free for the most part, loads of fun, and I became Mrs. Duigan - perfection.

September 17, 2011 - Grandma (dad's mom) passed away from complications with her Alzheimers.  While it was expected, it was still sad.

September 23, 2011
AM: Grandmother fell (2 days after her 94th birthday - don't tell her I told you!) and broke her hip. Mom and Allison stay at the hospital with her all day.
PM: Visitation for Grandma's funeral.  Amy, Paul, Alan, myself, Dad, Aunt Sharon, Uncle Craig and other family members attend.

September 24, 2011 - Grandma's funeral.  Grandmother gets up and walks - Amazing.

October 17, 2011 - Alan and I celebrate one month married!

October 31, 2011 - Alan and I move out of our 1 bedroom apartment and into...a trailer...just until the house is finished.

November 15, 2011 - Alan and I spend our first night in our newly rented house!

November 24, 2011 - Thanksgiving! Allison is sick so Grandmother stays at her new apartment.  She was discharged from rehab just 6 weeks after breaking her hip!  However, Buckner was shut down so she moved to the Atria in Carrollton.  She's so close now...but no germs for her!

December 3, 2011 - First party at our house!  We had the Annual Indian (Irish) Thanksgiving at our house.  We had SO much fun!

December 17, 2011 - 3 months together!!!!

December 24, 2011 - Christmas Eve.  Grandmother's first outing to church since her stroke in April.  Alan's and my first Christmas together!

December 25, 2011 - Christmas!!!!

December 31, 2011 - Christmas with Amy and her family.  Christmas dinner.  New Year's Eve Party with little boys. 

January 1, 2011 - New Year's Day!  No better way to start a year than church!

Jan 14, 2011 - Today.  A lazy Saturday with my husband.  This week will see us together for 4 months.  I love this man!  I decided today to try to blog more.  We'll see!

Let's face it - we all know people prefer blogs with pics....so, I give you - pictures!

Family pic from the wedding

Christmas shoot by our fantastic friend Kristina Glass

My personal fave!

Bridal Portrait (my fave!)

Wedding...in pics

Here are some pictures from the wedding...I should get the DVD of pictures from the photographer tomorrow and then I'll have LOADS more to put up! :)

Thursday night dinner at Spring Creek with the Irish (and Jenn)

Dad took the guys to shoot at his favorite shooting range....

We girls got our nails done (this was at the salon though you can't actually tell we've just had our toenails painted...)

Then the boys checked out Ham and Eggs in Lewisville -- check out the pancakes!

We had a wonderful rehearsal:

And the wedding was beyond exceptional!

All the kids made it down the aisle without a hitch... 

And so did Dad and I!

David teased us about having triplets, which made loads of people laugh.

We said vows...

Gave each other rings...

Lite the Unity Candle I bought in Irleand 10 years ago...

 And kissed!!!!!

 Then we headed for the reception!

We danced and danced and danced (even though there were only 3 dances it took FOREVER!!!)  (We also had cake and tossed a bouquet/garter.  We chatted with friends and had a ball!)

During all of these festivities Alan's family and friends gathered at his Dad's house in Carlow, Ireland to watch the happenings on Skype!  I love that they took a picture! :)

Truly - it was the best day of my life! :)