Five

Happy Birthday to my sweet Morgan. Five years have flown by so quickly.

500

I was hoping to save my 500th post on this blog for our new house, but since it has been nearly 2 months since I last blogged AND there aren't any prospects for a new house on the horizon, I thought I'd better let you all know that the Tenneys are alive and well.

It's been a very hectic last two months. Nothing much major going on, just the craziness of work for both me and Patrick. It seems that we have been going in two different directions, Mach 10 with our hair on fire. And June will be no different. However, Patrick's busy season will be coming to a close in the next few weeks, and my July calendar is freeing up a bit, so I am greatly looking forward to some down time with the family.

Morgan is doing really well. I update her website far more often than I update here, because her life is frankly much more interesting than ours :) She has officially graduated from preschool and is excited about going to a new school in the fall. We are hoping to have her spend lots of time with her grandparents before "real" school starts and we actually have to be in town every week for her to go to school.

House hunting continues. We actually attempted to purchase a house, but that fell through as the seller wouldn't budge on his price. It's been a long road and I am super exhausted. Every house seems to run together! But we are still looking and praying that our house will come along soon.

Not much else is going on in Small Town USA. I hope to update the blog more regularly, but our life has been pretty boring....go to work, go home, clean, repeat. I hope you all are enjoying your summer so far. Stay tuned for more adventures of the Tenney Family!

Scrapbooking Weekend!

I just accidentally published my post about my wonderful scrapbooking weekend on Morgan's page (oops) and don't feel like re-posting it here, so click this link if you want to read about it!

House Hunting

As some of you may already know, we've been house hunting for about 3 weeks. I can't even begin to tell you the number houses I have poured over online. The process has truly been exhausting, and I know we have just started.


However, I am really excited because we actually put in an offer for a house yesterday!!! It's a 3 bedroom ranch in Fairmont, WV with a full, unfinished basement and TONS of potential!




I am trying hard not to get my hopes up, because I know that the process can fall through at the very beginning, but Patrick and I love this house so much we have been praying hard that this is our new home! We love everything about this home. And I hope within the next 48 hours we hear if the sellers accept our offer. We did put in a low offer, but hopefully it will be acceptable.

For now I am off to start looking at more places that we hopefully won't have to go see! If you would, please say a prayer for this process and that God's will be done. I pray that His will includes us living in this new home.

**UPDATE**
Unfortunately we did not get the house we were wanting above. It was a multi-offer situation and our highest bid was beat by the other couple :( I was really upset about it, but really feel God asking me to step out in FAITH and trust Him. So that is what I am doing. And we are back on the hunt this afternoon!

Lucky Thirteen

Thirteen years ago Patrick asked me to be his girlfriend while we were in my dorm room at Dadisman Hall at West Virginia University. It's hard to believe we've been a couple for so many years already. Here's to another year and our 8th wedding anniversary in 2011!

*This picture was taken at Patrick's cousin Matt's wedding in May 1998, 2 months after we started dating.*

Status Quo

There hasn't been much to report around the Tenney household lately. It seems like we have been holding steady, in the work and school routine. We've weathered the snow and moved into the rain, looking forward to nicer days ahead with the promise of Spring.

Patrick is gearing up for the beginning of "workshop season" which starts tomorrow with a Suicide Intervention/Prevention workshop in Morgantown. He is also in charge of organizing a bullying awareness conference that has over 500 attendees! He's been very busy at work. He is leaving next week for a well deserved golf trip to South Carolina with his best friend/cousin Matt.

Morgan is doing well. She spent some time with the in-laws and had a great time at their house. She's been a little under the weather this week, resulting in a few days at home with Mama and Daddy. I smiled yesterday when she said she through her tears that she didn't want her Daddy to stay with her, she wanted her Mama. It was sweet.

I haven't been doing much other than a little housework here and there. I started a new cross stitch project that I am working on. I also had a great day shopping with my Aunt the other day. We try to do that once a month and I always come with bags of stuff!

We are finishing off the basketball season this week with two home games. Then we'll reclaim our weekends until September :) We have a few trips planned in the coming month, lots of birthdays to celebrate, and hope to get out house hunting soon.

So we're not doing anything too special. Sorry it's been a while since my last post, but we've pretty much been status quo.

My Loves

Happy Valentine's Day to my three loves.....love my little family!

Stuck in between

It's been a season of stuck in between lately for me. Stuck in between pain and tolerance. Between anger and forgiveness. Between agony and contentment. When your "fat pants" are too big and your next size down are too small. Friends, it's a very frustrating place to be.

After dealing with some pretty intense personal things in early November to rushing through the holidays it seems I was spit out in January absolutely exhausted. January is such a depressing month for me in general. Holiday decorations have been put away. Parties have stopped. The weather gets more severe, and things at work slow to a snail's pace. It gives me a lot of time to contemplate what has been going on in my life. This year I have realized that I am stuck in a quagmire, unable to really make headway in any direction. I've been struggling against myself and against situations that are far out of my control. My energy is depleted and my patience is thin.

February has begun and I hope to have a path to move toward this month. I started reading a book called Calm My Anxious Heart by Linda Dillow. It's all about teaching yourself to give your situations over to God and allow Him to rule the situations of your life. I am hoping that this book will illuminate that path I so desperately look for, and will provide some spiritual renewal that I believe will help bolster other energies. If you have any extra energy just hanging around your house, could you bottle it up and send it my way?

Happy Birthday Cecelia!

Today our sister-in-law, Cecelia, celebrates her 30th birthday. We want to wish her the very best as she begins a new decade. We love you!

WVU Basketball

Today the Tenneys spent the afternoon with our good friends Josh and Anna Robinson at the WVU Coliseum watching the Mountaineers take on the #8 Purdue Boilermakers. It was Morgan and my first game of 2011, and boy was it a good one. Morgan got her first Zul (frozen sweet lemonade) of the new year, and we all got free Gold Rush t-shirts! It was a sloppy game by both teams, with less than 50 points total at the half. But the second half was much better and the Coliseum got L-O-U-D!

I'm pretty sure that is Greg Gumble of CBS Sports down there.
WVU basketball great, Da'Sean Butler (a member of last year's Final Four team)

Head coach Bob Huggins, yelling at the refs for yet another horrible call.

The 'Eers were able to come out with a 4 point victory today, and we loved singing Country Roads at the end of the game (a WVU tradition after every home football and basketball win). Next week we'll be back at the Coliseum for the next home game. We can't wait!

Nothing says "a 4 year old girl lives here" like naked Barbies in the bathtub.

Nothing says "I am rushed every morning" like getting to work and discovering you have on one brown boot and one black boot.

Nothing says "I hate reading out loud" like asking your preschooler to get out her story reader and sit next to you for a bed time story.

Nothing says "my husband loves me" like watching him clean up dog vomit just so you won't have to.

Nothing says "I don't know, why don't you tell me what's for dinner?" like an empty oven.

Nothing says "Mommy needs to be alone for one blasted second!" like a locked bathroom door.

Nothing says "I love you" like a strawberry on the cheek.

Nothing says "I'm overwhelmed" like noticing that it is awfully quiet but not going to investigate because you are enjoying the peace.

Nothing says "Mommy body" like a roadmap of stretchmarks on your stomach.

Nothing says "You may think I'm trustworthy in the bathroom, but I'm not" like a counter full of hand soap and a floor full of water.

Nothing says "A four year old girl lives here" like naked Barbies in the bathtub.

Dec 25-31 Review

The last week of 2010 was very busy, but very fun for the Tenney family. I plan to post the recap of each day under the actual day it happened, so you will have to look back into 2010 to see what we did. We had lots of fun and took lots of pictures. So stay tuned and scroll down!

New Year, New Directions

Happy New Year from the Tenneys! I will be the first to admit that I am happy to see 2010 go. It was a tough year, especially the last 5 months. I am excited about the freshness we experience with the first day of a new year. We anticipate a few major life events in 2011 (and no, I am not pregnant :) and more than anything look forward to being more active as a family unit.

I've thought a lot about changes for 2011. I've made pointless resolutions in the past, and the "standard" resolutions of leading a healthier life and losing weight are always on the forefront of my mind so are therefore not resolutions.

In 2011 I will have one challenge for myself....to make time to be creative through Morgan's scrapbook, which is nearly entirely incomplete, and cross stitching. I hope to complete Morgan's first year of life in her scrapbook and create/complete 3 cross stitch projects.

So here's praying that all of you have a blessed 2011. I am happy that you are a part of this blog. It is one creative outlet that I truly enjoy.

Champs Sports Bowl: Before the Game

Morgan, talking to her Nannie while waiting on the bus

Patrick and WVU Head Coach Bill Stewart
(we caught him on his way to Mass and he was kind enough to stop for a quick picture)

Champs Sports Bowl: Fan Zone

Just before the game we all bussed over to the stadium and went to Fan Zone. It was part of our travel package, along with lunch at the Alumni Association's barbeque. It was a blast! We got a ton of freebies, had chicken and ribs for lunch, and got to meet a bunch of people. There were trampolines, face painting, DJs, and a walk on astroturf (which feels really weird if you have never walked on it before). The team was announced and walked into the stadium right by us. Mom and Patrick got some great pictures before we headed to the game.

Mutti and WVU basketball great Da'sean Butler

Patrick and WVU President Jim Clements

Coach Stewart arriving for the game

Champs Sports Bowl: It's Game Time!

Finally, after partying with Mountaineer fans from around the US, it was time for the game. We headed into the Citrus Bowl and found our seats. We had awesome seats! 14 rows off the field in the corner of one of the endzones. We were right above where the WVU team came out of the tunnel and we were right next to the Pride of West Virginia (the WVU band). Even though our Mounties didn't win the game, we had a great time.

Game Day: A Visit to Downtown Disney

The day of the game we had some time to spare before getting on the bus and heading to the Citrus Bowl. We decided to go get lunch at Downtown Disney. It was so great to see Morgan's face light up when she saw Mickey, all the princesses, and when we were in the shops she was overwhelmed. I can't wait to see her face on her 6th birthday when we drive into the Magic Kingdom!



We got lunch at the Rainforest Cafe'. It was a really good meal. In order to speed up our meal we opted to sit on the stools at the bar. We laughed the entire time at our "butts".





I could have shopped there all day. I love the magic of Disney. I can't wait to come back and spend more time shopping for souvenirs!

Universal Studios: Islands of Adventure

Morgan was so excited when we got here today. She was smiling from ear to ear. I can't wait to take her to Disney, after seeing how excited she was about Dr. Seuss and Harry Potter today!

Islands of Adventure: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

What an awesome experience this place was! The butterbear was AMAZING, the castle was exactly as I pictured, and Hogsmeade was just great. Other than it being extremely crowded, the entire place was so much fun. If you are any type of Harry Potter fan, even a small one, you have to take a trip to this section of Universal Studios' Islands of Adventure. It is worth it, I promise!