More of the usual...

We don't have anything really exciting to report on this week - Our lives continue to be consumed by work and studying, but we are working hard to make time for fun too. Katie's birthday is shaping up to be an eventful one: 3 tests and a dentist appointment. Woohoo! Please pray for her as the first round of tests are always difficult to judge. It is amazing how much knowledge is getting crammed into her head already though. Taking vital signs of anyone who enters our apartment is not out of the ordinary at this point. Chris has been traveling more lately, but will be staying home more in the weeks to come, so that is good.

This week we received our half-marathon pictures in the mail, so we wanted to show them off. Hope you enjoy them!

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6-7

A Week of Accomplishments

What a week it has been for us! Although neither of us was as prepared as we should have been for the Houston Half Marathon, we did it and had a blast! We took a flight to Houston the day before (thanks Dad for taking care of Dixie), picked up our registration packets, and ate a carb-filled pre-race dinner with the family. The next morning we woke up extra early and headed to the race along with about 10,000 other people. Both of us were surprised by how exciting the whole experience was - It was a like an exhausting party for 13.1 miles. Seeing friends, family (thanks Aunt Linda), and the community showing their support made you fight to do your best. We both met our goals, so we are more than happy. Chris finished in about 2 hrs 11 min and Katie finished in 2 hrs 52 min, and we are motivated to improve our times next year as this appears to be a new family tradition to honor those we love together. We just received proofs for our pictures from the race, so as soon as we get them we will post them on here for you all to see. The last few miles were rough, with our legs cramping up so bad we could hardly move much less run, but what an amazing feeling to cross that finish line and realize what you accomplished! We are still recovering, but each day it gets a bit easier to move around. It was totally worth it!

In other news, we finished getting our bedroom put together, so we've posted a couple pictures. It really is nice to have a desk, drawers, and a working room for us again. Katie started nursing school this week, so needless to say we have a lot less free time. She has hit the ground running and we don't see it letting up until summer break. Please pray for peace and wisdom for her during these two years. The faculty have all been very supportive of her, and that has helped her confidence a lot. Chris has a couple work trips in the coming weeks, so he could use your prayers for safe travel. We are so blessed to have each other and to have each of you, our family and friends...

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress. And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from start to finish. He was willing to die a shameful death on the cross because of the joy he knew would be his afterward. Now he is seated in the place of highest honor beside God's throne in heaven. Think about all he endured when sinful people did such terrible things to him, so that you don't become weary and give up.
-Hebrews 12:1-3

Happy New Year 2010!

It's hard to believe that 2010 is already here, but we are excited to see what it brings. Our 2009 wrapped up on a positive note with a great Christmas celebration with our friends and family. This time we spent Christmas Eve at church with Katie's family and a late game night with Kori's family. We love our Llewellyn vs. Conaway Christmas game night tradition and only hope it will continue for years and years to come. Christmas morning we drove to Katy to spend midday with the extended Llewellyns and night with Chris' family. Chris is most proud about giving a great pair of Spiderman underwear and a big, blue Snuggie. The next day we celebrated with the Mullins family and a room full of games. Our holiday wrapped up the following day as we returned to Dallas to open presents with Katie's family. We are so thankful for all the wonderful gifts we received, but more so for the memories that our friends and family helped create.

We love visiting Houston, but unfortunately we had to return the very next weekend for a funeral. It is nice to have each other during these times to navigate the emotions and give support.

On a lighter note, we are currently training for the Houston half marathon (that is approaching much too quickly). We are also finally getting our bedroom together (almost 3 years later). Maybe once we finish we can post some pictures...Other than that, it's back to work and back to preparing for nursing school. An addition we are making to the blog for the new year is including a Bible verse that we have found helpful, applicable, or interesting for the time being. We hope it is a blessing to you too!

"I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit."

-Romans 15:13