This last year... With it's ups and downs..

Well... I have officially failed at this blog thing... It's been well over a year since I've last thought about updating this thing... For that I apologize! BUT how exciting to be back together again via the world wide web!! Let me fill you in on the last year... It's been a crazy year.

God decided to bless the world with a beautiful, little creature on April 17th, 2012... Later on June 24th, 2012 he was added to our little family and given the name Little Barry Ellis (named after the man who we bought him from as a joke that our dear friend AJ thought would be so funny...) He now goes by the name Barry or Barrold.. He has been such a joy to our lives and we absolutely adore this little mutt.

Barry comes home with ecstatic mom and not-so-sure dad...
Barry quickly won over Casey's heart!

Barry and his beloved Raccoon...
The raccoon lasted approximately 3 months before it was completely shredded... 

Barry's days at work are sooo difficult...

Barry's first road trip...  

Barry's not the best at cuddling...

Happy first birthday Barry Dog!!!

So, as you can tell... We have become those annoying people that only care about their dog.... We are possibly what you would define as "obsessed." We'll leave that for the psychologists to determine...

What else have you missed out on since I haven't been connected to the blog world... Oh yes... I have a new "role" at the church (which actually isn't so new now... It's been about a year :\)... I am now the Kid's Ministry Director at our Lockwood Campus... This became official the end of July-ish last year... I can say I honestly LOVE my job... Yes, it's very stressful... Yes, some days I get overwhelmed... Yes, sometimes I think "what have I gotten myself into??" But more often than not I am absolutely humbled that God would allow me to have such a big role in His story... I get to have fun with kids and volunteers while loving Jesus... Pretty awesome...

This last March, Casey and I made a big step into adulthood... We bought our first house! We thought it would be a really great idea to gut the kitchen and start over... Some idea.. That turned into basically redoing the main floor! I will post (I really will try to post) an update on the house that has before and after pictures, but below is at least a picture of the front of our cute little home.

Home Sweet Home

In June, Casey and I celebrated 3 years of marriage! How the time has just flown by... We went down to Longmont, CO to see our close friends Mimi and Andy Salonen, went to Six Flags, went hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park AND saw Hillsong United at Redrocks!! It was quite the anniversary trip! Love you husband!

Hillsong United @ Redrocks.

This July, however, has been a complete 180ª for us. You see, one of our very best friends was taken from us last month. On July 16th, 2013 around 10:00am, AJ Blain was tragically killed in a helicopter accident. (It's hard for me to even type this because it makes it that much more real.)

You guys may remember AJ from an earlier post titled C+A is now C+A+Junior.... (If you haven't read that post and would like to know a little bit more about our dear friend and the time we spent with him you can read it here.)

Our hearts are literally crushed. We miss our friend. Simple as that. We know that he is flying high and safely with the Lord right now and that brings some comfort, but there is still a dull (and sometimes intense) ache that may never go away fully until we get to see our sweet friend again.

At the time of AJ's death, he had it all. He really packed more life (and Baja Blast) into 27 years than any 80 year old ever could. He had just married the love of his life, Carly, who he referred to as "Miss Wonderful" on May 18th, 2013... He had cows, he had the sweet helicopter he wanted so bad, he had a house, he had a pile of friends and now he had the girl. We had never seem him so happy.

Why the Lord chose to bring AJ home so early we may never know.... What we do know though, is that AJ loved Jesus with all that he was. He truly talked the talk, but more so he walked the walk. He loved people better than anyone I know. He had close friends from all walks of life (literally... There were over 1300 people at his memorial service to pay respects to him). He was able to bridge the gap between any set of people. Casey and I now have some very great, lifelong friends that would not be in our lives if AJ wouldn't have lived this so well.

In the days and weeks after Junior's passing, Casey and I have had a lot of time to think and pray and question God... We still don't have many answers yet (none really at all actually), but I do know I want to live better. I want to love better. I want to give more generously... I want to be more like AJ. I don't want AJ's death in my life to be in vain... I want it to change me. Most off, I want to be like Christ and if I can be more like AJ, I will be pretty dang close.

Our hearts absolutely ache for his family and his beautiful bride. We are at a loss on how to help, but we will continue to help however we can. AJ would count on us to do so. His family is our family. We love them like our own.

My words don't do justice to the man AJ was... If you didn't know him how I wish you could have! He was extraordinary. Truly the light of the world. Please read a beautiful description of his life that his sister and family put together here.

Here are some pictures of one of our best pal.

Jr doing what he absolutely loved. Flying.

Casey and AJ at our wedding.

AJ was so sad to lose his friend, Casey, to me... Little did he know he was actually just gaining ME!

Christmas 2011 at the combined Blain/Ramage household.

His infamous grin.

What a guy.

Junior and his best friend #61.

"Deals never sleep."

He certainly had a way with outdoors equipment... And breaking it.

Happiest day of his life.

Him and his Mrs. Wonderful. The love just radiated off them.

Our hearts are hurting. We are confused. We will continue to put one foot in front of the other. We will honor the life you lived. We loved and love you more than you will know and we are so eternally grateful for your friendship.

Junior, we miss you pal.

Let the Festivities Begin...

Well... This year the start to my holiday season was a little different... After much badgering by a great friend, Casey and I signed up for what may become a new tradition for us....

At around 7am on Thanksgiving morning my alarm sounds.... I of course hit snooze (a few times)... 7:30am rolls around and I finally decide if this is gonna happen I'm gonna have to actually get up (UGH!)... So, begrudgingly,  I crawl out of the warmth of my cozy bed and head to attempt to wake myself up enough for what's ahead of me. Casey, eventually gets up too and we get all suited up for our journey.  We walk outside into the 30 degree weather and immediately begin regretting our decision, but we've already made the commitment... So, we push on... We arrive at our friend Colin's house and attach the last part of our uniforms. Head back out into the cold and walk a few blocks downtown where we are surrounded by chipper faces and ridiculous costumes... We take our positions and the buzzer sounds... 29 minutes and 25 seconds later my sweet friend, Tensy, and I arrive to our destination... Aka the finish line!  Yep.... You guessed it.... Casey and I started out our Thanksgiving morning running our first race (with friends of course)! Granted it was only a 5k, we were still pretty excited.  I have to tell you this though, out of 1500 people who ran the race my awesome husband finished in the top 100!! For his first race!! I was proud to say the least. :)

Casey and Colin Getting Ready

Done and Still Smiling

After starting off the morning with a "workout," we felt like we had justification to stuff our faces full of Thanksgiving grub.... And we did just that. Being a newly married couple, the navigation and logistics of holidays can be quite tricky. Never wanting to hurt feelings, and wanting to spend time with everyone in both families is a hard battle.... But one we always face head on... This Thanksgiving we ate with Casey's Mom and Dad and a few of their friends... Eating with them is always a treat, because as much as Casey's mom will NEVER admit.... She is a great cook and a wonderful hostess! We ate our share of Turkey Day grub, hung out for a bit, and then it was off to the next destination...

The next stop was my Uncle Tom and Aunt Terry's house. They had already eaten. So, we just relaxed and chatted about anything and everything. Holidays on my side of the family, however, are a little different than most... You see, my dad passed away just over 4 years ago... So, you could imagine how hard this season of the year is on us, but especially my mom. There were many years since his passing that she wouldn't even consider celebrating a holiday.... But her heart is softening and she is slowly... very slowly coming around :) She came over to my Aunt and Uncle's house without any sort of fight and I cannot tell you how amazing this is!  It's been a huge challenge to figure out how to be joyful and thankful during the holiday seasons, but also be sensitive to her broken heart.... But God is so good and she is healing... Slowly, but there is healing there. Thank you for this, Lord. If you are a prayer, I would ask you to pray for my mom. Pray for the softening of her heart to continue and for her eyes to open to the God who loves her and so desperately wants her to turn to Him.

Thanksgiving came to an end, and our heads hit the pillow once again.  Next thing I knew... it was 3:16am and my stinkin alarm was going off again.... That darn friend who talked me into running on a holiday also talked me into waking up before the crack of dawn to go.... shopping.... Ugh.... I've always worked Black Fridays, but never had the opportunity to experience the madness from the consumer's point of view... This year that changed. I was in line at Cabela's at 4:30am with literally thousands of other people... The doors opened and the craziness began.... People were running all around to get their hands on that one thing they woke up so early to buy... It was pretty funny really... I heard one girl say she had been camped out since 2:30am!! 2:30am!! The store didn't open 'til 5! So, we shopped all morning... (but don't worry Jamie... we didn't have any fun!! ;)) I was back in bed by 11am... Pretty weird day really... Not sure if I'll do it again, but it was actually a pretty good time! I do love the deals!!

Tensy and I waiting in line at Cabela's

This time of year always makes me look beyond the tradition to what really matters and what I'm oh so grateful for... It makes me realize how truly blessed I am... This is a pretty common thought for most people around the holidays... I mean we see Thanksgiving and Joy plastered everywhere we look... So, how can we not be reminded to be thankful...  But I've really felt challenged by all this and I read the other day... Should we only be this thankful around the Holidays.... When we're reminded to be thankful?  Our Lord is blessing us daily... regardless of the time of year... He doesn't wait for the holiday season to love us... He doesn't wait 'til the day when it's "appropriate" to send Christmas cards out to bless us...  He loves us, blesses us, and cherishes us ALL year! Even when the Christmas tree dies and you have to throw it out... He still chooses to loves us and be thankful for us.... But what about our thankfulness towards Him??? We wait until the lights and tinsel are up, and the pies are in the oven to count our blessings.... Or even if we are thankful year round, we can't help but be more thankful around this time of year.... I don't know about you.... but I feel so challenged, even convicted, by not expressing this "magnitude" of thankfulness ALL year.... Lord, forgive me for my selfish heart and help me to be THIS thankful ALL year....

C+A is now C+A+Junior....

So, most of you know this, but there may be a few of you out there that don't know... Casey and I have moved.... and in doing so have inherited a roommate. You see I have a heaping pile of student loan debt that we have been trying to pay off.... But if we follow the "wonderful" plan of repayment that the lenders give us, we will be paying for at least 10 years!! Oh and not to mention paying thousands of dollars in interest!!  This just made Casey and I sick.... We really didn't want this hanging over our heads for the next 10+ years....

After much prayer and consideration, we decided we had to do something to try and pay this off sooner... This is where the "roommate" talk comes into play.... We started contemplating different options, and one day while discussing this with one of our good friends, we received an offer "Why don't you live with me?" At first, Casey and I didn't want to burden this friend of ours, but after a few more times of him offering we decided it was a great idea... You see... our super generous friend offered to let us live in his basement... for free! Thus allowing us to pay my student loans down in just over a year!! How could we not say yes?!

So... this is how C+A became C+A+Junior....

Normally after a year or so of marriage, most couples would introduce you to their new puppy or their new baby..... but for us.... well..... let me introduce you to the newest addition to our little family.... AJ Blain (we refer to him as Junior).

Most of you know AJ, but if you don't... you need to get to know him! He's a self-proclaimed rancher, a pilot, an oil man, loves cows, loves Diet Coke and LOVES making deals.

When you hang with Junior, you will most likely do something crazy like one of the following: fly someplace like Red Lodge for lunch or dinner while doing barrel rolls, rip around on an oversized four-wheeler wrangling cows into a trailer, go to some sort of auction, eat a buffalo chicken sandwich from the Brew Pub, take a boat out on the river or lake and likely break something, or watch a Chick Flick (mostly the one found on Lifetime or Encore Love).

He's just been so great to us and we are soooo incredibly grateful for this sacrifice he is making for us welcoming us into his home! He did not "require" any sort of payment from us, but we've decided to provide him with cable (including numerous movie channels) and a fridge full of food.... So, really it's a great deal all around and Junior is ALL about the deals!

You see... Junior and Casey are best buds (I think that's how guys refer to it... Ladies it's our equivalent to BFFs) so everyday is an adventure to say the least! Whether it's movie nights, Casey and AJ  punching each other for fun, lighting stuff on fire in the back yard (sorry Flidge), baking cookies, or just sitting around with Tensy and Jamie while AJ asks "What else?".... There's always something happening in the combined Blain/Ramage household....

Casey teaching Junior how to use his new iPhone.

I'm not sure how long we'll live with Junior, but we will make sure to enjoy it while it lasts!!  I will leave you with some recent Junior quotes.... (I will be throwing these in periodically in the blog.... which has now been referred to by Junior as the "house blog")....

• "Oh.... that just reminded me, I got in a wreck today..."--Junior
• "Did you get kicked by any cows today?"--Me "Yeah.... three."--Junior
• "You think it's weird when people touch your nipples?"-- Junior asks Casey.  Casey immediately makes fun of him.... Junior's rebuttal to Casey making fun of him... "Well... your new name is Nipple Boy!"

That is all for today....