recent Rufus

Here's a collection of what I believe are some recent "best of" Rufus moments. When you watch the videos, you will hear our Rufus voice - it may sound like Robert or me doing the talking, but it's really Rufus communicating through us.


Rufus and Rogue (Rogue is our upstairs neighbors' dog, and we share her, and Rufus loves her)


A slightly staged picture since I wasn't actually asleep of Rufus learning how to cuddle (and no, I'm not sucking my thumb)

Helping Dad study - sorry about the immodesty



Meeting the kitty next door #1



Meeting the kitty next door #2


Rufus has really taken a liking to Schlafly since Robert started working there.

He's actually holding the bottle in his paws here - his goal is to be better than the Budweiser dalmation.



We've talked about how obnoxious he is when we have a bottle of beer out, but for those of you who have not seen this in real life, we took a video last week. He never drools otherwise, but if you look closely, you can see him drooling over the almost-empty bottle. (Important disclaimer in case you think we are being irresponsible dog owners: we only give him a couple drops at the end of the bottle, and this is not something we do frequently - and, most importantly, he LOVES it) We've thought about not giving him any more tastes of beer - but it's just too funny. It must be something about the bottle because when we have IBC root beer, he acts the same way.

things we have done in 2009

I made a list like this once on a birthday - I think 22, and it made me feel very accomplished and exciting...of course that year included my first job out of college, getting engaged and moving to nashville. This one might not live up to that, but I think it's still going to be pretty cool.

we joined South City Church (where Robert will do his intenship in 2011)
made the longest ever roadtrip to Texas with Rufus, who did quite well
the Taskers paid us a visit, which I think was the beginning of starting to like St. Louis
year one of seminary finished!
Robert got a new job at Schlafly and quit Starbucks
more Nashville friends, Chris, Dustin, Ben & Erin, moved here, making us SO happy
I nannied for the summer and fall, quit Alpine shop, and got a full-time position at the fruitstand
our third anniversary!
Robert had a reunion with all his BFFs from college and got to meet this little muffin
(along those lines, about a million friends had babies)
I have learned to like cooking (miraculous, really)
moved to a new house that gave Rufus a playmate and gave us some amazing neighbors
weddings for Kristin & John, Brooke & Brad, Chris & Lindsey, Kristin & James, Simon & Katie
went on my first real life business trip
saw U2 FINALLY! (as well as new york friends)
had a sweet (though brief) Christmas with Robert's family + the Taskers in Nashville, and then a fun surprise to see the Shays the next day back in STL.


we are so grateful for this year - it's definitely been hard at points, but as far as being able to see God growing us closer together, closer to our comunity, and closer to Him - it's been wonderful.
we already have new adventures planned for 2010 - and I will try to get back to my blogging ways so that I can let you know about them.

we took a trip

It had been fated since I met Mary Beth in RUF/Chemistry & Society that we would go see U2 together someday, so we did. We had been planning this trip since this past winter, so it was awesome to finally go. And Robert and I have spent a collective total of 2 minutes together this whole summer and fall, so he came along for NY, but not for U2. We had loads of fun and together time, and got to meet up with Steven and Hannah (our gracious hosts) and Sharee and Syndi and Jamison and Kat. It was so much fun, and only made us want to live there more! Here's some photo highlights:Right before U2 came out - Giant stadium was crazy looking!
Pausing in Central Park...
We went to Brooklyn Brewery, and Robert was a happy hippo.
This is halfway through a guava booty bun. So good. I miss these delicious treats already!

house tour

We finally got the house in fairly good shape. Most of our boxes have gotten unpacked, and there's only a few random boxes and things we had to stash in the closet/basement before we had our first little get-together over at the new place. I can't express enough how happy we are to have such fun landlords and such a wonderful place to live. Here goes the long-awaited (at least by our parents) house tour:

Front Door...yes, I did in fact letterpress that little nameplate for us - though I almost ruined the press in the process.


Entryway...our landlord, Mike, laid all that slate the week before we moved in.

This is Rufus' room - it's a little closet-room underneath the stairs where he sleeps at night and stays when we're gone. (Think Harry Potter at the Dursleys' house)


Bathroom with awesome blue tile


Living room, it's all one color (grey), even though it looks different with lighting.



Office/Dining Room/Middle Room-still kind of a work in progress


Kitchen - as suggested by Katie Rhea, we are calling this color "Love, Love" due to its tennis ball hue.


Bedroom....and


Rufus with his new friend and roommate, Rogue, who shares a backyard, hallway, and sometimes the house with us.

we went camping!

Here's why I haven't been blogging: 3, (now actually 3 + 1 consulting) jobs + husband with 2 jobs + trying to pack for our apartment move + housesitting/dogsitting/babysitting for 3 different people....whew! We are tired. Robert's been a champ, working really hard at both jobs until he goes back to school.

Since things have been so crazy, we decided to take one night and go camping this past week.

Rufus enjoying the creek with RobertAt the top of the mountain for the first time

I took my first iPhone video....here's us on the way up the mountain the first time.

You might have noticed I said "first" which is funny, because most people climb up a mountain, then climb back down. Well, somewhere along our hike, we must have taken a wrong turn and ended up hiking the whole 10 mile trail, which took us up the mountain twice. That would have been fine, except, thinking we'd be gone for an hour instead of 5, we only took one bottle of water for us and Rufus. We were so tired, hot, and thirsty by the time we found our way back. Next time, we'll learn some lessons like look at the map before hiking, get to the campsite before dark, and bring firewood.

The upside to this was that our tent and gear were awesome, and we'll probably head back this fall now that we know a little more about what we're doing.

And big, fun goal reached in our big debt payoff. We now have no car debt! We got the official letter from the credit union yesterday along with the title in our name. So exciting, and very encouraging on our journey to get rid of all our debt ASAP!

I'll put up pics of the new place when we get moved in and painted, but it probably won't be for a couple weeks til we're settled!

head this way for a giveaway

I'm doing a giveaway on my design blog: mudpiemagnolia. Right now there's only a few people entered, so your odds are excellent. You have until midnight on Sunday to enter. Also, I'd love for you to add mudpie magnolia to your frequently-read blogs, so subscribe away, and tell your friends to enter my contest. No fear, this blog will not be going away, we've just been super busy with our combined 5 jobs...or actually, I guess it's 6.
Pictures of our new place are hopefully forthcoming!

it's summah-time!

We've been all busy, and aren't really slowing down now that it's summer. So here's some updates!

Robert finished his first year of seminary! Hooray! Finals are all done, and there's no more school til August. We're already getting to see each other more.

The day Robert finished finals, we went to go look at a place to live this fall...and we decided to go for it. It's on the bottom floor of a 2.5 story house. The people that own the house go to Covenant, and are going to let us share a backyard, internet, a doggie door, and most importantly....a fire pit for s'mores. We're going to be moving at the end of July and be in a cheaper place without mold on the ceiling and pee in the hallway and WITH an awesome park and a cool family to share the house with us. So yay!

Also changing for us is our job situations. As I type, Robert is at training for Schlafly (a St Louis brewery), where he will be working in addition to Starbucks - at least for now. Also, I quit the Alpine Shop because next week I start nannying 2-3 days per week for a 5 month old little girl.

We're also planning on camping and going to Nashy for a wedding, so our summer will be busy, but a lot more fun than studying...and it's so wonderful and warm!

If you have a minute to pray for our friend Ruthie, please do so. She was in a car accident in high school, and the injuries from that accident are keeping her in chronic pain. She needs surgery to help correct some of this pain, but that surgery costs $100,000 that won't be covered by insurance. Some amazing people are throwing a benefit concert for her in Nashville this week, so if you're in town and want to go, it'll be awesome. Or just pray for her and that this concert will raise a lot of money for her.

And Ross and Lindsay are leaving for Italy on June 15th, and need to raise more money to really cover their support. Pray that they'll be able to raise this money quickly, and that it doesn't get in the way of their transition to Florence.

We'll check in soon!