Blessed

I often think about my life, the good and the bad, and am constantly reminded about how blessed I am.  I've been through some hard times, but never lost my faith that God was in control and would lead me through it.  I can honestly say that I wouldn't trade my life for anything.  I have an amazing husband, a wonderful job, true friends, and a loving family.  What more could I ask for?  God has faithfully led me through the dark areas of my life and blessed me with more than I could ever ask for!

I don't brag on my husband very often (definitely something I need to work on), but I'll spend some time doing just that.  He's definitely brag-worthy :).  I am so blessed to have met a true man.  He is a leader, a role model, and has a huge heart. He treats me with the love and respect that every wife deserves.  He loves his job and is great at it.  I'm so proud that he loves his country so much that he is willing to put his life on the line for it.  As much as I hate it, it still makes me extremely proud.

To wrap it up, here's a verse that I love.  "Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments." Deuteronomy 7:9

Some recent pictures:

Two of my best friends in Colorado Springs

Josh and Zoey chilling on the couch

Zoey's new friend, Rambo

My sister, Emily, and good friend, Robin.

Meet Zoey

Josh and I have embarked on a very important step in our lives - we bought a puppy.  She is a boxer and her name is Zoey.  As precious as this little girl is, I don't think either one of us had any idea the amount of work 7 week old puppies are.  I've never had a child, but I can imagine it's something like having a newborn (just not quite as hard).  All she does is eat, sleep, and poop (and randomly play).  The first night we had her, we were up 5 or 6 times.  She would cry, we would take her outside, and then put her back in her crate.  An hour later, the same vicious cycle would happen again.  We were fighting to stay awake the next day.
Despite her puppiness, she's adorable and I think she already has Josh wrapped around her finger.  She loves to cuddle and be around us.  Here are some recent pictures, with more to come!

Crafts, Crafts, and DIGITAL Scrapbooking!

I never knew that something as trivial as scrapbooking could get me so excited!  I'm afraid to admit it, but I even had a dream (well...many dreams) about it last night.  I love crafts.  I find it ironic that as much as I fought my mom trying to get me to like crafts as a kid, that I grew up enjoying exactly what I hated.  Now that I think back, it wasn't that I actually disliked crafts, it was that I disliked doing what my mom desired me to do.  Sorry mom :(.
All that to say, I stumbled across DIGITAL scrapbooking the other day.  I am a designer (or at least try to be), and was thrilled to find out that I could combine my love for crafts as well as my love for the computer.  Some of these digital scrapbooking kits are incredible.  Here's a look at one:

I've been wanting to scrapbook my wedding pictures for a while.  With these resources, it will be so easy to make a digital scrapbook.  Don't get me wrong, I am in no way turning my back on the original scrapbooking method.  I still plan on creating my wedding album this way as well.
After spending hours perusing through some amazing designs, I decided that I was going to start designing my own scrapbook materials.  Why not?  I have a degree in graphic design - it shouldn't be that hard right?  We'll see.....
Also, feel free to check out my website.  It's still a work in progress, but something is better than nothing, right?  www.designbyalyssa.com

9th Annual Platte River Half Marathon

I'm not really one to make new years resolutions, but I do enjoy pushing myself to do things I wouldn't normally do.  I've decided that this year I'm going to run two half marathons.....which pretty much is a whole marathon (2 halfs equal a whole, right???).  I ran a half marathon in 2009 with my much faster and more athletic sister.  I may not have finished in the fastest time, but I DID finish.  Here's a picture of me crossing the finish line:

The first half marathon that Josh and I will be running is in Littleton, Colorado on April 10th.  My goal?  To beat my time in 2009 and learn to love running!  I'll keep you updated!

New Beginnings

As 2011 fell upon us, I began to think about the past year.  I kept hearing from friends and acquaintances, how bad 2010 had been for everyone.  Was I the only one that felt it was an amazing year!?  Obviously, it had its ups and downs, but all in all, we were truly blessed in 2010.  Josh was in Iraq for the first half of the year.  As hard as it was, I consider it a time where God helped as grow as a couple and in Him.  I can definitely say that I learned to trust Him more.  There is no way a control freak like me can determine Josh's safety.  Thankfully, he had a safe year in Iraq.  We had a wonderful wedding, an amazing honeymoon, and the excitement of moving to somewhere new.  We love Colorado Springs and the people we've met so far.

All this to say, I can only hope and pray that 2011 holds just as many blessings as 2010 did.  I hope to grow as a Christian, wife, and friend.

Hello!

Well, here I am....blogging.


I swore to myself that I would never become one of "them."  There really was no point to me blogging; my life is as boring as it gets!  Who would want to read about my monotonous life? 


It all started when my older, and much more busy, sister asked me to design a blog header for her.  I've actually never designed a blog header and didn't even know where to start.  After much research, I decided that the best thing for me to do was to create a "practice blog" so that I could figure out how to upload my header.


And here I am, using that practice blog to do what I always swore I wouldn't - write about my life.


It stops at twitter, I promise!


Now is the time where I sit at my desk and think, "what in the world am I going to write about?"  I don't have any kids, no animals, no crazy neighbors, or amazing talents.  BUT, I am blessed with a life I love.....and that's what I'll write about :).


Stay tuned!