day of love

I know, I know, "you should love eachother everyday, not just a holiday once a year". and I agree but it's also fun to be more intentional and kick things up a notch when in the midst of (at least ours) opposite schedules and business that we wouldn't normally have.

I was scheduled to work on Friday night so we celebrated on Thursday. We opted for no gifts but my sweetie got me flowers anyways! (side story-I didn't answer the doorbell because I thought 'WHO would THAT be?! I'm not answering that!' and sure enough, it was flowers for me. I called Cody and told him that I did not answer the mysterious doorbell and he was probably crushed, haha but the florists called me and brought them back a few minutes later! oops! )

When Cody got off work that night we got all dressed up and headed into the big city for dinner at a restaurant he made reservations at. 

look how big of a goof he is as I'm setting up the self-timer!

After dinner when we got back home, we sat down together and answered the questions on some cards I made from some Pinterest ideas. There were about 15 cards and they were vague enough to be answered vice versa.

Some of the questions were:

What characteristic of your spouse do you want your children to get?

What would you tell your 15 year old self?

Where do you see us in 5..10..15 years?

What is your dream job?

What do you look forward to about being a parent?

and so on...

Cody and I both agreed that it was a fun way to communicate and love on each other instead of our usual TV or movie watching! Even though we've been together for a bit.. are married.. and live together.. sometimes you just need to sit down and ask the "obvious" questions! 

Since I work at night, I technically have the morning that I first start back at work "off". (Since I was going in for work on Friday night after many days off, I woke up early on Friday morning with cody.. nap that afternoon and go to work that night)

So Friday morning we made a Valentines breakfast with heart shaped pancakes!

We also gained our FIRST nephew on Friday afternoon! So exciting! We haven't been able to see him yet but we'll make the trip across Texas in a few weeks!

valentines day eve

Happy Day before Valentines!!

Cody and I are actually celebrating today due to the fact that I work tomorrow night.. more on how we're celebrating later!

So for now, a few favorites and a few links!

this video: titled, God's Glory in Marriage is a great reminder of how we should view our own and our spouses imperfections in this crazy adventure called marriage :) How are we to portray Christ if we aren't showing our own spouse Christ's love and grace?!

My inner labor and delivery nurse laughed at the truth in this article! "Things your L&D nurse does NOT want you to do"

Also, check out our wedding video!! I anxiously waited for this video for months, and 3 months later it was a great review of our big day!



 A few favorite books:
I ordered a picture book of our wedding pictures from Artifact Uprising and absolutely loved the result . It is great quality, has a cloth hardcover and a picture wrap over the outside.



This book By JD Greear! Don't be deceived by the title, ha! It's about not questioning your salvation after already accepting Christ. Cody is a  HUGE fan of JD (I'll even catch him changing his voice to JD's when referencing him ;)) This is a great book with lots of great references to understand it!

I love any kelly Minter book... which is why I'm reading two right now ;) No Other Gods is very much like "Ruth" which I've done a study through before. There's great stories, lessons, fill in the blanks, and very easy to understand. The Fitting Room is great if you're like me and constantly trying to figure out how you should act as a Christian, or "putting on the characteristics of Christ" as the book states!

wedding video!!!

Our wedding video is finally here! Take a look and enjoy!

our wedding video

Mr. and Mrs.

another blog title change... but as I read my former blog title... and as I read other blogs.. I realize how much more fitting the title "the McMurray Life" is. As much as I love thrift shopping, cooking, and socializing with friends... these days most of my time is spent working, sleeping for work, or planning the next weekend. I figured the title is more appropriate to discuss not only these things I enjoy, but also the truth about marriage, life as a pastor's wife, and someday as we grow into a family!

I was reading a post earlier about marriage.. and how before the actual reality sets in (you know. you're home from your honeymoon, finished the last of the thank you cards, and just got back to work from taking the time off) .. you associate the word "marriage" with the joy of lace wedding dresses, centerpieces, and bridesmaid activities.

Weddings are not perfect... (it POURED rain on my wedding day, my photographer constantly wanted to move onto the next thing when I wasn't finished with the first, and I didn't even get to eat any cake!, ha!) but neither is marriage!

However, once the reality does set in.. marriage is real. Cody works full time normal people hours as a youth pastor, while I work full time 12 hour night shifts as a nurse. Due to this, we sometimes rarely see each other. When I work 3-4 days in a row and he's busy planning the next DNOW or 5th quarter event, a 45 minute visit once a day is about as good as it gets. When I am off work for a few days, I struggle to get back on a day schedule, making me constantly tired and sneaking in naps as Cody goes back to the office for a few hours.

In between those odd hours, I've found it so much harder to make time to have quality girl time. With all of my close girl friends having full time daytime schedules, it has made it so much harder to squeeze in those precious moments with my close friends. So while I've heard forever that you're spouse is your "best friend", those words are more true now than ever.

The point? Sometimes I'm exhausted from working the 3rd night in a row, sometimes I'm too tired because I've slept 4 hours in the last day, sometimes I'm lonely because the only person I have seen in a few days is my dear husband. But this is marriage. we cherish the moments we DO have together, are learning what communication is all about, and learning to love each other in our worst moments. This man is my best friend-the one who chases me around the house and makes me laugh to the point of tears, and the man who listens to me when I'm upset about the silliest of things. He is my comforter, He always leads me to Jesus, encourages me to push others to Jesus, prays for me, and pursues me.

Just wanted to give my best friend a big shout out for putting up with me!