The Obligatory First-of the-Year Blog

Well, it’s 2009…isn’t that how it’s supposed to start? A new year—onwards and upwards—etc., etc. My main thoughts on this year are “So far, so good.” I had a delightfully long winter break from school, lasting from mid-December until January 20^th (about 6 weeks). I spent plenty of time relaxing and watching tons of movies. I also managed to be productive by washing the dogs (yep, both of them, in our tub—yikes!—but not at the same time), sorting through clothes to be thrown out, donated, etc., some seriously cleaning and finally cleaning and organizing “my office”—dusted, reorganized, papers filed, old docs shredded, etc. Not to mention all the baking I did around the holidays (and for Dad’s birthday). I did a double-batch of chocolate chip cookies and a triple-batch of Oreo balls right before Christmas. I don’t think any of them lived to see the new year. I had to make another batch of Oreo balls for the New Year’s party. And just recently dad got red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese icing. Yum! Happy Birthday, Dad.

For two weeks of my break I pretty much hung out with Jason on our couch as much as I could. He was working from home the week of Christmas and the week of New Year’s. That was a huge blessing and we soaked up as much time together as we could in between holiday activities. I hosted a shower the first weekend and we were both in a wedding the second weekend. During said wedding, my darling husband had his first opportunity to be Santa Claus. (He made an appearance at the reception since it was a Christmas wedding.) Oh my, what a spectacle he was (and loved every second). You get the gist from the pictures, but let me assure you that Santa shaking his rear to the Macarena for all of the wedding guests was a much greater event witnessed live and in action. For me, the highlight was when he actually danced his hat, hair, glasses and beard right off his face. I hope none of the kids saw.

As of this past Tuesday, I am officially back in school. This is my last year of undergrad and I am already super excited to graduate in December. I am taking 15 hours this semester: Tests & Measurements, Logic & Critical Thinking, Global Perspectives in Art, Counseling Theory & Practice, and History and Systems of Psychology. I think I am going to have my hands full. The art class makes a great break from all the other psych classes, though, and we get to do cool hands-on projects like making masks, Aboriginal painting techniques, hand-made paper, print making, Shibori (a Japanese printing technique on cloth), and other stuff like that. It’s therapeutic and stress relieving for me to have a class where I can plug in my iPod and get to be creative for 3 hours. And this is the last class I need to fulfill the requirements for my art minor.

I am going to have to take classes in the summer and then the fall semester will be my last full semester of undergrad. Then I will graduate with my BS in Psychology and a minor in Art. I also believe that I will be doing my clinical hours this summer. I’m not sure where I’ll be doing those, as I have several places to choose from.

As for Jason, he is continuing to work hard to put me through school. I am so blessed to have a husband who is willing to stick by me and not only work hard to provide for our family, but also to be a constant streaming source of encouragement and uplifting. I constantly hear him saying, “I believe in you! You can do this!” I don’t think I could make it without him. He led a group of sixth grade boys in a Disciple Now retreat last weekend and had a blast. Jesus and wrestling—what more could a group of teenage boys ask for? Feel free to join with us in praying that he will be able to start working from home full-time soon. The drive back and forth to Dallas is killer, especially when he could do the same exact work from our living room.

Well, that’s most of what’s going on with us in 2009, so far. Oh yeah, one of our dogs got in a big ol’ dogfight today. Way scary. I’ll post more about that later.

Jason and I hope that your New Year is going well and that God is filling your life with His presence and His blessing. Until next time…

Sending our love,

Heather & Jason

Christmas Pictures

As promised, here are a few recent Christmas pictures of us.

Happy Holidays from the Ryans!

Christmas 2007

I thought this might be a fun way to keep up with friends and family.  Or rather, a fun way for friends and family to keep up with us.   The picture is from last Christmas, but hopefully I will have some from this year to add soon.

I just finished my third semester (including summer school) at Texas Women's University and am only a year away from my bachelor's degree in Psychology.  Hooray!  I've got a break for Christmas and am enjoying some much needed R & R.  I am looking forward to spending Christmas with our families, ringing in the New Year with friends, cooking, baking and hopefully getting our house clean!

Jason is doing well, too.  Actually, at the moment he is fighting off a cold, but overall he is good.  He is working as a web designer for the Hilton Hotels corporate office.  Recently he was given the opportunity to participate in a pilot program though work where he gets to work from home.  He spends two weeks at home and two weeks in the office.  It has been a huge blessing to have him home, even if it's only half the time.  And God has worked it out for him to be working from home during all of the major holidays.  It's great.

Jason and I also host a Life Group in our home for young married couples.  We have been meeting with them since August 2007.  Through our group we have learned much about ourselves, the Lord, had many fun experiences and had TONS of laughs.  It is truly a precious group of people and we are blessed to be part of their lives.

I also attend a women's Bible study group during the week while Jason volunteers with the youth in our church.  Jason has been working with the youth since 2003 and has quite a devoted following of kiddos.  He loves it and surprisingly, he comes home from spending time with a bunch of teenagers with more energy than he left with.  I guess that's how you know it's the Lord's calling for you.  He is absolutely gifted with those kids.  I've taken to photography as a hobby and have also had a chance to shoot engagement, bridal and even some wedding pictures.

And, for those of you invested in our 2 furry guys, they are doing great.  We moved into a small one bedroom apartment a few months before I went back to school, and they have made the transition beautifully.  Sometimes it takes some interesting dance moves for the four of us to maneuver around, but overall it is cozy and comfortable.  Cody is still all about the squeeky ball and Kadin has turned napping into an art form.  They are great dogs and we love them to an embarrassing degree.  :)

So that's a general update on the life and times of the Ryans.  I'll try to update regularly, but no promises.  Hope you are all doing well, and Merry Christmas!