Happy Mothers Day!

I consider myself a lucky girl. I have the most amazing family in the world.  One that is there  for each other through hard times. One that celebrates each others achievements together.  One that can have a great night full of laughter just hanging out at the house and cooking dinner together.  Our family has a special bond - in large part thanks to my Mom.

Being a new Mom, I feel that I have HUGE shoes to fill.  I often find myself praying that I can be as good of a mother as my own was/is.  My brother, sister and I learned so much from our Mom.  She always encouraged and expected us to be the best person we could be.  She taught us the value of hard work.  She taught us that it is ok to make mistakes, and how to learn from those mistakes, ask for forgiveness and to strive to do better next time.  She taught us how to have fun, encouraged us to be creative and showed us the importance of family.  And over the years, my Mom has become my best friend - someone I can talk to about anything.  I pray that one day my daughter can say the same about me!  I love you, Mom!  Thanks for being you - and the most amazing Mom in the world.

I also feel very lucky to have married into the family that I did.  My mother-in-law has raised 4 wonderful, caring kids.  My husband is a true testimate to the kind of mother she has been.  I know that the way he loves and cares for our daughter is exactly how his mother cared for him, and it's an amazing, beautiful love.  I have never met someone that so selflessly serves her family, expecting absolutely nothing in return.  In the 7 years that I have been around their family, she has welcomed me with open arms.  I am so blessed to have such a wonderful mother-in-law!  Thank you for accepting me into your family and for everything you do!

Happy Mother's Day to you both!  We Love You!

A long year ahead...

Matt will start HIS LAST ROUND OF FINALS EVER tomorrow.  He has been studying like a crazy man this weekend and will continue to do so until he offically becomes a 4th year vet student on Thursday!  Normally we push through these tough weeks of studying and exams by looking forward to the break ahead. "2 more weeks till Christmas break - and we'll have a whole month to spend together without worrying about school" or "3 more exams THEN SUMMER! We'll spend every weekend in the sun at the lake!"  However, this year, there will be no break.  He will get a 3 day weekend and go straight into 4th year next Monday.  Matt is excited because he won't have to sit in a classroom from 8am to 5pm everyday and spend countless hours at the library every week.  He will be working with patients and clients in the hospital and probably learning more in one year than he has in the last 7 years combined.  As exciting as the next year will be, we are both a little anxious about it.  We've been told for the last three years that the 4th year is crazy and that vet school owns your life (As if it didn't already).  We've been told that typical hours are 6:30 am to 8pm, plus on-call, plus going to treat patients on the weekend - almost every weekend. Sigh...No getting off at 5pm on Friday and heading to the lake?!

I know that as hard as keeping up with the schedule is for me, its much harder on Matt.  I try my best to support him in everyway I can and to be his cheerleader because I know that he needs it - 7, going on 8 years of school is a LONG TIME, people! I am so proud of him and so thankful that he is pushing through these - sometimes, not so fun - years of school so that he can have a career that he loves to support our family.  We have met some amazing people in the last three years and made tons of memories that we will cherish forever. We plan to  make the most of our final year as "college kids" and to have the video camera rolling non-stop so Matt won't miss a single move Apache makes - even during the most demanding weeks!

Matt, Apache and I love you so much - you're the best husband and Dad in the world and we're so proud of you!

And last but not least...Here is the video of the day. Featuring my crazy awesome husband! =)
Dancing in Wal-mart

Why oh Why Apache?

So, I know the question burning in everyone's mind is: WHY IN THE WORLD DO YOU CALL HER APACHE?! 

First, Let's clear one thing up...Apache is NOT her real name.  Just a nickname that we use for her when she's on camera.

When I was in the early stages of my pregnancy, Matt and I were trying to decide what to call the baby until we knew the gender and decided on a real name.  Most people use things like "peanut" "blueberry" , etc.  But of course - Matt can't just go with the norm.  My due date was Nov. 21 - the Sunday before Thanksgiving.  Our conversation went something like this....

Mere: Well, it will be close to Thanksgiving.  How about pumpkin?
Matt: No, that's lame
Mere:Ok, How about Turkey?
Matt: No, these are stupid names. We might as well call it cornucopia!  We need something awesome
Mere:  I like Turkey, but ok...
Matt: Its gonna be a boy, so we need something manly and cool
Mere:I'm pretty sure its a girl, but whatever.  How about this - Thanksgiving ---> Pilgrims and Indians ---->Indians---->  What do you think about Apache?
Matt: PERFECT...Apache TEXAS RANGER it is..Apache TR for short.

And that is the story of how the name Apache came to be.  Our family and friends also loved it, so the name really stuck.  My poor sweet girl will probably be called Apache for the rest of her life. Sigh...

Anyway, We went to Mark and Jaci's house last night for dinner and Apache got to play with a cat for the first time.  Here is the video for the day (a day late)!
Apache play with Tracks

Moving Day...

Well, today was kind of a sad day for us.  My best friend, Amy, is moving 5 hours away and we spent the evening packing all her furniture onto a U-Haul.  Amy has been my best friend since, oh...Forever.  You can go back to our 4th grade class picture and there is Amy in a crayola hat and me in a big straw hat with a giant orange bow on the front.  We went to our 7th grade dance together (we weren't cool enough to have real dates yet).  In middle school we spent about every waking moment together in a dance studio or at cheerleading practice.  We gushed over first kisses and cried over first break ups.  We had only skittles and a coke for lunch every day in the 8th grade (Sh! Don't tell our Moms!)

In the 9th grade my family moved from Arkansas to San Antonio, Texas.  It was devastating.  But several times a year our moms would meet each other half way and we would get to spend a week together, either in Texarkana or San Antonio. I don't even want to know what our parent's phone bills were like when we were in high school.  Even though we were 8 hours away, we stayed best friends and were there for each other through thick and thin. 

Amy got a job in College Station in Feb. 2009. And for the last 2.5 years we have enjoyed being right down the road from one another again.  It has been an awesome couple of years and I'm so thankful that we have gotten to spend so much time together.  Recently Amy decided that it was time for her to move back home closer to her family.  I understand, because I can't wait for Matt to be done with school so that we can be closer to our family, but I am sad that she won't be right down the road anymore.

I know that no matter the distance between us, we will alway be best friends.  I know that we will always be there for each other no matter what happens.  I am so thankful that I was blessed with a life-long friend and sister.  I love you so much Aimes!

Enjoy today's video!

Moving Day

Backyard BBQ

One of the main reasons that Matt and I are so anxious to get back to the Hill Country area is because it's so beautiful.  Our goal is to one day own property with breath taking views and a house with an incredible back porch. We want to be out where we can hear the crickets chirping rather than cars buzzing by.  That's ONE DAY...Until then, we will be finishing vet school, paying off student loans and enjoying the views and the crickets chirping from our parents incredible back porches! And for the next year, we will be enjoying BBQs in our quaint little back yard that has no grass - Thanks to our awesome pups, Dozer Man and Kimber Baby. 

Tonight we had a little family BBQ in that quaint little back yard of ours.  Apache got to play in her walker (Thanks Grandma and Grandpa - she can ALMOST touch the ground!) and play with the pups.  She LOVES our dogs. And they LOVE her.  And we love that they love each other!  For as long as these amazing (massive) pups are around, Apache will always have protectors and best friends.

Enjoy todays video!

BBQ with the Baby

Welcome to the Life of Apache...

Hi world!

We are excited to have a blog up and running and can't wait to start sharing our adventures in parenthood!

Just a little bit about us....

We are from Boerne, Texas - a small town outside of San Antonio.  Matt and I gradutated from Texas A&M in May of 2008, got married in July of 2008 and Matt started his 4 year Veterinary program at A&M that August.  After Matt finishes Vet school next spring, we hope to head back to the Hill Country area somewhere.  We can't wait to be closer to "home" and our families!  While Matt stays busy with school, I spend my days as a civil engineer for a small land development company in College Station.

In November of 2010, Matt and I welcomed the most beautiful baby girl into this world.  God has blessed us in so many ways over the years, but giving us this incredible addition to our little family is by far the most amazing blessing yet!  Becoming a Mom, watching Matt become an amazing Dad and seeing our sweet girl grow everyday is such a wonderful gift!

Today Matt and I decided that we are going to ATTEMPT to make a video every day for a MONTH!
Sooo... Today, Apache had her first spoon fed meal!  We started out with rice cereal and I can't really say that it was a success.  However, after testing it out myself, I can't really blame her for spitting it all out.  Oh well... Maybe in a couple days we will try something else!  Enjoy the video!

Apache Eats Cereal!