Though this weekend was Valentine's Day weekend, we spent the good part of Saturday morning stressed. Well, I stressed. Kyle worked hard. He had part one of his SRTA exam, a practical part of his licensing exam. So since he was going to be working so hard this past weekend and was going to be exhausted at the end of it, I took it upon myself to plan a little surprise for him. I am a huge fan of gettitng dressed up and going out to dinner, and with both of us being students, we rarely either have the time or dough to do so. So this was the perfect time! Valentine's Day+celebration of completing part one of his SRTA=much needed night out. So we got dressed up and headed to Folk's Folly (perfect place for my meat-and-potatoes-man). Thanks Sisco's for playing photographer!

And not only do we get to celebrate Kyle just being finished with part one of SRTA, BUT we get to celebrate him PASSING!!!!! Wooo hooo!!! I hurdle down. Few more to go. Congratulations Kyle, I am so proud of you!

Too bad with all the excitement, I am laid up in bed feeling miserable. Saturday night at dinner I started to feel not so hot, and sure enough this morning I was not going to work. Hopefully tomorrow morning brings some relief.

Hope everyone has a wonderful week!!!!

Wex

2nd Best Day of My Life!

I bet my day was better than yours....

The best day of my life so far has of course, most definitely, without question, been the day Kyle asked me to marry him.

But today's events makes today the second best day of my life (so far)!

In an earlier post, I explained my "since birth" love for everything Florida. Gator football has especially been a huge part of my childhood and my ever-growing love for college sports. You can check out a little of the history, here. Keep this in mind as you read...

For the past few weeks, I have been driving to Nashville on Tuesday nights so I can attend these student tutorials that the company I am in rotation with provides for all their student PTs. I have spent Wednesdays in Franklin following one of their therapists, but today he was out of the clinic in the afternoon so I left at lunch time to head back to Memphis. Before I left I stopped at Bread and Co. in Cool Springs to pick up a little bite to eat for the way home and some fruit tea that I had been craving all morning. I walk inside the door of Bread and Co. and of all people to be sitting in front of the sandwich ordering counter but one of the greatest football players of all time, TIM TEBOW! I was stopped in my tracks. Trying to keep my cool, I walked past and headed to the counter to order. As I am trying to write down my order (mind you, I have no idea WHAT I am ordering at this point), my hand is trembling. Do I talk to him? Snap a secret photo on my phone? No, because for the first time I am without my purse that ALWAYS has my phone and camera in it!

A man in line ahead of me clearly sees my excitement and nervousness and encourages me to say something to him. Now I don't know if anyone in this packed-out lunch hour deli has any clue who Tim Tebow is or if they are just polite and mature (unlike me at this point) and choose not to stare or whisper or recognize his presence. I figured maybe it wouldn't be such a problem for me to bother him, since no one else is. :) So after much encouragement by this stranger to not leave with regrets, I took my sandwich and fruit tea to the car, grabbed my camera, and quickly hurried back in. So with his mom and dad, two-three older men, and two other younger guys who could have been just as important as Tim (I couldn't pick them out of a line-up as I was too concerned with #15), I walked up to him introduced myself (without so much as saying my name), thanked him for being such a wonderful influence and standing up for what he believes in, and then asked for a picture! Being gracious, he obliged me and this was the product:

Be jealous ladies (and men too, for that matter), be very jealous!

Today made the past three-and-a-half rough weeks well worth it!

Hope everyone has had a good day, great week, wonderful snow days, etc and will have a wonderful Valentine's Day regardless of who you are spending it with! I thank God every day for the many friends that I have shared past single Valentine's Days with and now for the wonderful man who, God-willing, I will get to share the next 80+ with.

Til later....

Wex

A Sisco Superbowl

Sunday was spent celebrating the Superbowl at the Sisco's. Kayla is OBSESSED with Peyton and with most everyone else being huge Tennessee fans (yuck!), the house was full of blue and white. All the ladies (except me...) prepared some RRRREEEAAAAALLLLL good food for the festivities.

Kendall, being the artsy one with the artsy friends, had a cute little game for us to play during the commercial breaks. "Brand Bingo" was a hit and us McShan's kicked everyone's bootays! No need for envy guys! :)

Here are a few photos from the gathering...

In other boring news, I finally found frames for some of my most favorite posters. The Cotton District Arts Festival in Starkville has a poster competition each year. You can purchase the winning poster from the Starkville Arts Council. Springer and I had been on the hunt for one of our favorites and ended up finding just one, of course. So now she owes me her life because I let her have it :) I had checked into getting them framed and when I realized it was going to cost me $300, I quickly gave up on that quest. BUUUUTTT, I was in Michael's this weekend and found this really cute silver frame for under $15 and bought three of them! Best deal I've fallen into in a while...

The Lousier The Day, The Sweeter The Blessing

Without going into details, let me just say that I have had a rough past week and a half. This new rotation is not going well for me and I feel like I have cried practically everyday on my way home. I tell you this not for you to feel sorry for me, but to share how wonderfully God shows himself when you think He has forgotten about you.

At the end of the day yesterday (Tuesday), I just fell apart at work. I was overwhelmed, frustrated, and for the sake of not speaking of ill of others, I'll just leave it at there are conflicting personalities. I tried to hold in my frustration and anger until I was out of the office and at the very least in my car. But I couldn't. Most of you know that I am an emotional person, but I am pretty good at controlling it until an appropriate time. But yesterday, the flood gates that are my eyes just couldn't hold it anymore and down came the tears.

I made it out of there, into my car, turned the radio on. I start my mornings off listening to KLove on the way to work, so when I got back in my car, it was still tuned to 94.9. The very first thing I heard was this:

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, and when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile." Jeremiah 29:11-14

Well Hello God! :)

In the roughness of the past week and a half, I have cried, I have complained, I have pointed fingers, etc, yet I realized (as this verse was slapping me in the face) that I haven't taken it to The Man! I keep saying things like, "There's a reason God wants me here" and "Maybe God is trying to teach me something" but I have not called out to Him, I have not prayed to Him for this matter. Until I seek Him with everything that I am, how can I expect anything? God loves His children and He really does want the best for them. But I have to keep in mind that my idea of "best" and His idea of "best" may be two totally different things.

Ok so if that wasn't enough of a slap in the face, I get an email. Let me back up a second and preface this. At my first chapter meeting for Phi Mu my freshman year of college, a million lists were being passed around for us to sign up on. Things to get us involved on campus, emails with health tips, daily devotionals, etc. One of the lists I wrote my name on was one to receive daily devotionals from a Rev. Post. I have been receiving these for the past 6 six years or so and they are always a quick reminder of God's love for us and what we are called to be and do and how to act as believers. IMMEDIATELY after I heard that verse on KLove, I get my devotional for the day in my inbox. So I read it on my phone on the way home and this is what it says:

How Are My College Buddies?"

The lousier the day, the sweeter the blessing."

It is fascinating to watch how God deals with His kids. All of us have days that 'run us over' - days in which our patience is shattered, our faith is shaken, our frustration level is off the charts...just a rotten day. I bet you sometimes think that God is disappointed with you on days like this. No, not really, He really isn't. He is the perfect Father to us and He actually hurts when we are struggling.

Because He adores us so much, He loves to do something very special for us on a day that is wearing us out. He sends a 'load lightener', a special blessing to reassure us, to lift us up, to restore our battered faith. This unexpected blessing comes straight from Him, it is a visual aid to you that He still loves you and He is in control. It's like He's saying, "I know you're irritated, I know you're feeling sorry for yourself. Here's a special blessing to let you know I am taking care of you."

Do you need a 'load lightener' today? Hey, all of us do on this side of heaven. If you need one, your Father will certainly send one...watch for it today...I bet He's smiling when He sends it.:

"He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all, how shall he not with him freely give us all things?"Romans 8: 32 (Take some time and think about this verse.)

Last night I drove to Nashville to spend the night so I could attend a student tutorial this morning. One of my best friends, Amber, was wonderful enough to let me crash, considering I had to wake up at the butt-crack of dawn. When I got there, I was distraught, tired, worn out from driving, and the minute I walked in the door Amber greeted me with a huge smile and a hug just as big! Definitely my load lightener! Am, if you are reading this, THANK YOU! Thank you for being such a wonderful, supportive, there-for-you-no-matter-what kind of friend. I need a load-lightener, God knew it, and He gave it to me in the form of a best friend! :)

Sorry for the semi-novel tonight, but I just wanted to share that with yall and hopefully on your lousy days you can recognize the "load-lighteners" God sends your way.

Wex

New Additions

Last weekend Kyle and I headed to the delta to spend some time with his family. Though it was relaxing, we did a lot of running around. We spent Friday night at Mamaw's house with his parents and Micah (his brother) and opened Christmas presents!!! It's never too late, right? Saturday morning, Mamaw cooked us a breakfast fit for a professional football team. Then we headed to Kyle's great uncle's house for lunch. From there we left to go to his cousin's, Nikki, house to see Baby Riley! She is a Bulldog in training and I can't wait to buy some adorable baby bulldog gear for her! Here are some pictures of her precious little self:

Us just admiring her

She loves her new cousin-to-be, can't you tell??? Not giving her up any time soon! Practicing for the future! Haha. What do you guys think???
No more pictures from Mississippi, but it was great to get to spend time with Kyle's aunts, uncles, and cousins and of course Mamaw and his parents.

This past week has been pretty slow. I started a new rotation and I'm still getting adjusted to a new atmosphere, a new treatment approach, and new people. Still not sold yet. Praying for patience, grace, understanding, and perseverance. I did, however, start going to a new Bible study and I think it is going to be just what I need. It's been a while since I have been surrounded by a group of women studying the Word. Definitely recommend this type of thing to all women! I need it, you need it, we all need it. Trust me!

This weekend was tiring, but fun! Friday night, Caroline and Brandon joined Kyle and I for the Grizzlies game. Caroline and Brandon recently got engaged as well, and they are getting married October 9 (which is our engagement date). Caroline and I Jersey Shore fist pumped every time music was on, and I am sure we made our fiances proud! Ha. They are so much fun and we were so glad they could join us! Oh, and the Grizz won! On our way to playoffs hopefully. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed...

Saturday morning was the Lisa Lassandrello 5K, in memory of Kate's mother. Wonderful turnout and awesome weather! Poor Kate had surgery to correct a detached retina about a week ago so she wasn't able to run, but we had a good time cheering everyone on as they crossed the finish line. It was also good to see some PT friends.Saturday afternoon was spent signing contracts with our new cake lady (the story behind the first is a fiasco and needs its own post) and fixing everything I had messed up on our registries. I looked at the china I had originally picked out and realized I hated it! It was nothing special, and if china is used for special occasions then it needs to be special right? So I changed it to this:Lenox Lace Couture. I'm not a huge frills fan, but this was just enough femininity for me and something that I can envision giving to my daughter one day! Like it? So then I had to go to every other place to have them change it to, because the more I look at these registries online, the more confused and stressed out I get (and a stressed out Courtney is no good). So now we are DONE! NO MORE SCANNING GUNS! This morning, A-MAZING sermon at Fellowship. ***If anyone in the Memphis area is reading this and are in need of a church home, please think about checking out Fellowship.*** The rest of the afternoon was spent organizing wedding stuff and getting my life together for a new week.

Hope everyone has a great week! If there is anything I can be praying for for any of you (maybe all 5 who read this) please let me know! Prayer is powerful!

Wex

No News is Good News???

Not much to report lately...

Still waiting on Kyle's board scores to come in (We, and by "we" I mean "I", are getting a little impatient).

Start a new rotation Monday (terrified of this one!).

Kyle and I start pre-marital counseling tomorrow (not sure what to expect).

Going to the delta to spend the weekend with Kyle's family (very excited!).

Hope all is well with everyone!

Wex

Auld Lang Syne

To ring in the new year, Kyle and I joined a group of our friends at the Joneses' house in Marion. Kendall and Keith were wonderful hosts and treated us to a delicious dinner complete with pork tenderloin, a yummy salad, and really yummy dessert. The rest of us each brought a little side dish to add to the meal.

I have been slacking on taking pictures lately which is so not like me. I usually keep my camera in my purse, but of course it being a special ocassion, I changed bags and definitely didnt bring my camera :( So for this post I'll be stealing from my friends. Thanks ladies!

The Ladies

No night would be complete with battle of the sexes Catch Phrase

The Future McShan's and The Sisco's

The Whole Crew: Joneses, Tramells, Puryears, Siscos, and soon to be McShan's

Thank you Kendall and Keith for having us! We had a wonderful time! Kendall, post your pictures so I can steal those too ;)

Resolutions? Why not? Just to name a few....

1. I have a wedding dress to look good in so of course the "get in better shape" one.

2. Quit procrastinating (as much).

3. Staying in better touch with my friends who I don't get to see very often.

4. Taking more trips to see those friends.

5. Learn to cook (apparently wives have to do this???)

6. STOP WORRYING! (I have been practicing this one for the past few months so it should be a pretty easy one)

7. Getting more involved with my community and church.

Hope everyone had a safe and wonderful holiday season!

Wex