April was a very crazy month for both of us. Lance was, of course, wrapping up his busy auditing season, so the weeks seemed to drag on as the end was near. But lo and behold, toward the end of April his long hours were over! Whoo hoo - I actually have my husband back! Now he's actually only working 45 hours a week or so, which is a nice improvement over the last three months. It's been nice to have him here at home again. We're still newlyweds, remember? :)
We were also very blessed with visits from some members of my family in April. Erica came the first weekend in April for our last "girls' weekend" before Baby Quentin comes (yep, they finally picked a name!).
Erica and moi hammin' it up for the camera
We had a really nice together. Lance was even around for some of it, ha! My friends were also gracious enough to throw her a mini-baby shower too, so it was nice to have my sister and my best friends together to celebrate her big event.
On Easter weekend, my Mom, Dad and little sis Cynthia made the long drive from Houston to come spend a few days with us. We hadn't seen them since New Year's, so it was a long time coming! We had a wonderful few short days together. We got to eat some yummy food, visit with Lance's family together, and even go to a Redbirds game (they're the local AAA baseball team). The visit was way too short, but we really had a wonderful time. They had to get back on the road early Easter morning, so Lance and I were able to spend the day with his parents and extended family. What a blessed Easter weekend!
In the middle of all of this, I started my new job - and let me just say that it has exceeded all of my expectations and then some. I feel very blessed and humbled every day that I get to go to a job that I love so much. I still keep waiting for someone to come tell me that they've made a mistake, and that I don't belong there :) My new coworkers are absolutely wonderful - they were very welcoming and I know they liked me because they started making fun of me and ragging on me on Day #1 - that's always a sign that you've been accepted! I've gotten to do some amazing things - I've worked on several logo developments, two magazine layouts, one book layout (over 200 pages!), etc. Our big project right now is redesigning the Message bible covers. This is a huge account for our company, and it is amazing to know that in a little over a year, I will be able to walk into any Christian bookstore and see a bible that I designed! I can't wait :)
One of the biggest events that Lance and I had been counting down to was our visit to Atlanta this past weekend. As everybody knows, Lance is a huge Mets fan, and we had decided back in January that we would travel to Atlanta to see the Mets vs the Braves. It was perfect timing since it was at the end of Lance's busy season - so it was a mini-celebration for us as well. We really had a wonderful time - I think we both agreed that it was the best weekend trip we've ever been on. We ate some wonderful food, went to the CNN Center where we got to go behind-the-scenes of the news-making experience, and we even visited the Georgia Aquarium. That was an amazing place - there were thousands of fish and even sharks and whales. I was nervous that I would get claustrophobic in there, but it was so overwhelming and beautiful that I forgot to be scared :) But of course, the best part of the weekend was the Mets game. It was so great for me to finally see Lance in his element. I know that he is very passionate about it, but to see him in the stadium, at the field, was really wonderful. We were lucky enough to sit in a section with lots of other Mets fans, which made it even better (plus, the Mets won! whoo hoo!).
So as you can tell, April has been one another crazy month for us. But we continue to feel blessed each and every day that God has granted us these times together. Even through these busy days, we continue to thank Him for all that he's blessed us with.
Until next time...
-JessWillis