Poppy

(poppy, near the Simpson college campus)

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved, and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

 

Written by John McCrae during World War I

 

 

Gabe sang in a concert several months ago. I've mentioned it a couple times in blog posts. It was so moving to me. One of the songs was this poem set to music. It was written in honor of the soldiers who had lost their lives. The song was beautiful. We were walking to the town square the other day and I saw this poppy plant. I loved it. Then I was reading the pioneer woman today and she mentioned the poem. It was perfect, I had to post about them both.

Thank you to all who serve and have served for my freedom and happiness.

My cousin, Dan, is serving in the navy. He's coming home soon to marry his sweetheart.

Happy Memorial Day!

Death by Aria

Last night Gabe and the other 39 appretice singers put on a concert called Death by Aria. Each singer sang a song that they liked, or best showed their talent. It was long, nearly 3.5 hours, but it really was amazing. One of the directors of the program got up to speak and mentioned that over 1,000 applications were received for the program, with 800 auditions and 40 singers were chosen. Forty. Needless to say everyone was impressive.

I happened to be sitting in the wrong spot at precisely the wrong time, so the sun was setting right in front of me. I tried to get a video of Gabe singing, but I basically had my head down the whole time. Even worse, I can't figure out how to change the orientation of the video. Sorry, I'm definitely no videographer. But, he sounds amazing, so just think of it as more of an audio clip. OK? Thanks. After he sings few words, a lady sitting in front of me said "WOW." That's always sweet.

Iowa Day 1

We made it to Iowa. What a drive. Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Iowa. I think I saw 5,094,673 trees, 786 cows, 6 cops, 15 cracker barrels, and a lot of pitch black. We basically drove all night, after packing and moving all day. I got a little cranky...seriously. We unloaded the car, set up our room here and are getting settled in. The weather here is beautiful! It's 84 degrees but feels like 75. We have the windows open. The birds are chirping, and the sky is the perfect shade of blue.

The grass is seriously amazing. Can you feel how soft it is?

Here are some more pictures I took at the park today...

I have a thing for roses, mainly rose gardens. These took my breath away.

I had a visit with a bunny. He just wrinkled his nose at me.

Oh, hello there

Good night. Maybe you'll see me again tomorrow :)

The adventure

( A picture we took last year in Des Moines)

Ok, so just to update everyone. Gabe and I are leaving Houston on Thursday, like two days from now. Yep. Chaos is our new last name. From dentist appointments that make you want to punch a wall, to quiting a really good job, to a graduation, everything has been pretty overwhelming.

Our journey awaits us. First we are off to Des Moines, Iowa for about 7 weeks. Gabe is performing with the Des Moines Metro Opera, which happens to exist in a little town called Indianola, just outside Des Moines. We made the decision that I would not work, due to the short amount of time we would be there, and heck I guess a girl deserves a break once in awhile. Not sure exactly what I will do, but I am bringing my sewing machine, craft books, a lot of fiction, and this computer. Maybe I'll become a daily blogger. What do you think?

Then we are headed back to Houston to see a few friends again and pick up our stuff from our storage unit. Then, we make the long journey to Florida. How wonderful it will be to be home for longer than a weekend. We are so excited to spend some quality time with our family.

We will be leaving for a short period of time to see our besties get married in Madison, Wisconsin, but we'll be back to florida for several weeks. Just a few weeks later my cousin Dan is getting married to his long time girlfriend Lauren. It worked out perfeclty to be in Florida for the happy day.

In September we leave to go to Louisville, Kentucky where Gabe will be performing with Kentucky Opera. We'll be there for three months. I do plan to work there, hopefully with a travel nurse job, something short term. We are both excited about Kentucky. We've never been there and we hear that it's breathtaking in the fall when the leaves are changing.

 I originally thought I would stay in Houston while Gabe worked and traveled. The more I thought and prayed about what we should do, the more I couldn't stand to be away from him. Everytime he hugs me and lays his head in my neck I know we are making the right decision. I feel free. So, wish us luck on our adventure. We'll be sure to keep you updated.

The Graduation Announcement

He did it folks! Hooray!!!!!!!! He's my hero. So, we didn't do actual graduation announcements, but in all the craziness, for some reason I wish we would have. I think they are kind of cool, even if they seem impractical. So, here is our version of the graduation announcement

The President, the Faculty

And the Graduating Class

of

The University of Houston

announce the graduation of

Gabriel John P

on Friday, the Fourteenth of May

Two thousand and Ten

with a

Masters of Arts in Vocal Performance

Magna Cum Laude

Here is Gabe on his last day of school. I had to capture the momentous occasion as I was leaving for work...

He gave me permission to post I promise :)

Here is a picture from the music school graduation. Gabe opted not to walk, so this was the next best thing.

Here are some of our friends that also graduated. Pretty girls, Amanda and Lindsey.

Congrats grads!

Gabe and I are headed out on a little adventure now. Some of you know that we have decided to leave Houston. Not an easy decision to make. We are in the middle of packing and you know how much fun that can be. Last day of work was Friday. I'll post something more detailed about why we are leaving and where we are headed. We know it's all for the best, even though we loved Houston so much. Love to you all!

Happy Mamas Day!

Words can't express our love for you all. We're proud to have so many mamas that love us both soooooo much! You have all inspired us, taught us, loved us, magnified us, shown us our true potential and most of all loved us unconditionally. We love you! Happy Mother's Day!

Beautiful message

I know I have told you before how much she inspries me. If you haven't read her blog, you might want to start. She is simply amazing. http://www.nieniedialogues.blogspot.com/