Nate and Heather Disarro

The Trip

noreply@blogger.com (Nate and Heather) — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 19:55:00 +0000

Yes, it really has been quite a while since I posted anything on this blog! Life is just crazy right now, what with moving in and then going on a trip. And I think it's safe to say that everyone knows how difficult it is to come back from a vacation and start your life over again. Needless to say, we've been very busy, but our vacation was absolutely amazing. It's been way too long since I've been able to relax that much, and it was very much needed. Here are some pictures from the trip and a (quasi) brief summary of our time there!
Nate underwater at The Baths!

Us with the view of the port from Mafolie's!
The view from the courtyard of the Sunset House...I do really miss that!
A night shot of the view from Mafolie's
Devil's Bay....aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh, so relaxing!
My yummy jumbo shrimp dinner at Mafolie's!
Us in the courtyard overlooking Long's Bay
Random/amazing shot Nate took...not real sure where though!This is the shot of most of the Sunset House from the pool area!

Our trip started early early early on Thursday, May 21 at the Denver International Airport. We first had to fly into Dallas (to meet up with Nate's dad Jack, Linda, and her son Brandon and his girlfriend Liz). From there we flew to Miami International (definitely NOT a favorite in the airport world), and from Miami we flew into St. Thomas. One of the best things about that airport was the shot of Guava Rum that we got as we walked outside. Our taxi driver, George Sebastian, picked us up and drove us to an old Holiday Inn (I can't remember the name of the actual hotel), where we checked in and had our first sampling of Rum Punch at the bar. Needless to say, with the incredibly busy day, the humidity, and the Rum Punch it was very easy for us to fall asleep that night!

The next day (May 22) we took a ferry over to Tortola, which is in the British Virgin Islands (BVI). It's about a 45 minute ride, but so scenic that it feels like 5 minutes! When we got there, we had to go through customs (hurray, our first time to ever use a passport!), and waited on Nate and Jack to go get the rental car. Well, 45 minutes later they pulled up in 2 rental cars (shouldn't be a surprise for anyone who's ever rented a car before though). The funny thing is that in Tortola, the driver's side is still on the lefthand side of the car, but you drive on the lefthand side of the road. We went and got some groceries and headed up to the Sunset House, our mansion for the week! That day we got to visit 2 different beaches, Cane Garden Bay (which was being set up for the BVI Music Fest) and Brewer's Bay (which was completely empty but absolutely beautiful!) After a couple of hours we had to head back to the house and get ready for dinner, which was at Pusser's, a restaurant known for their rum. Afterwards we headed back to the house and watched part of the NBA playoffs before hitting the sack!

On May 23, we got to take a ferry over to Virgin Gorda, another island in the BVI. There we rented a car and drove over to The Baths, an amazing beach where there are massive boulders jutting out of the water and some of the best snorkeling I've ever seen. We ate at a sweet restaurant overlooking the water, and it had a pool right by our table to swim in as we waited for our food. We snorkeled around The Baths for a bit, then took a truly amazing hike through the boulders and water caves until we came out on a practically empty beach, Devil's Bay. This place was perfect, with shallow water about 20 yards out, great snorkeling, boulders to climb on, and the water was so gentle and clear. Everyone else snorkeled, but I just floated on my back for who knows how long. We drove over to Little Dix Bay Resort (very swanky!) and walked through the resort grounds for a few minutes before catching the ferry back to Tortola. That night we enjoyed a dinner with salmon, 3 different kinds of rice, corn on the cob, and our own homemade Rum Punch. We watched another NBA Playoff game, and got ready for one last full day on Tortola!

Sunday, May 24 we woke up to another gorgeous day on the island. We wanted to get some pictures of the house we were staying in, so we drove down to Long Bay Resort and took some pictures of the house from the beach. Then we done off-roading in the rental cars down to our favorite beach of the trip, Smuggler's Cove. This place was amazing! It was a 360 degree gorgeous view, a beach bar (card table with liquor on it, fresh fruit, and a blender hooked up to a car battery!), and a small stand with local handmade jewelry and clothes. We spent the entire day there, snorkeling, floating, singing and dancing in the water, and sleeping in the sun. That night we went back to the house and had a great Mexican dinner, complete with Rum Punch and NBA playoffs!

Monday, May 25 we left the island of Tortola, taking a ferry back over to St. Thomas (the US Virgin Islands), where we had to go through customs again. We took a taxi over to the Marriott Frenchman's Inn, an incredible resort on the island. We had lunch at the restaurant there, and went back to the rooms to unpack and rest for a little bit. We ended up taking a nap (all that relaxation wears you out!), and then went down to the hotel pool for an hour or so. That night we went to Mafolie's, which has the best view on the island and some of the best food too! It was an incredible view, and the food was perfect. That night we went back to the hotel and crashed!

Our last full day, May 26, was spent on St. John. Nate and I decided that should we ever decide to move to an island in the Caribbean, St. John would be it. It's still part of the USVI so we could work there, it's slightly tourist-y so there's a lot of different people all over the island, but most of the island is a national park, so it's not overwhelmingly crowded. We snorkeled at 3 different beaches that day: Frances Bay, Cinnamon Bay, and Trunk Bay, all of which were just amazing. We got to eat really great Mexican food at Margarita Phil's, and spent some time in a spice shop that had a great selection of spices, rubs, coffee, and tea. Finally, we hopped back on the ferry to St. Thomas, and decided to spend an hour at a little place called Duffy's Love Shack. This place was so much fun! They had great drinks that all came in custom glasses that you could take home with you! Nate got some drink in a parrot glass, and I had mine in a pirate mug. I still drink out of mine every day at work now! That night we all hung out in Brandon and Liz's room, watching some more basketball and just enjoying the last day.

Wednesday, May 27 we got to the St. Thomas airport bright and early. After saying goodbye to Jack and Linda, us kids sat down and started pouring through the 800+ pictures we took on the trip! Our plane left shortly after that, so we settled in for the flight to Miami. Brandon and Liz had a short layover there, so Nate and I said goodbye to them. We had a 6 hour layover, and decided to rent a car and drive to South Beach and see what all the fuss is about. I gotta say, I'm still not sure what all the fuss is about, other than mostly-naked people running around everywhere. Maybe I'm old-fashioned, but I found this annoying more than anything. The best part about South Beach was the delicious crab shack we ate at on Ocean Drive. The food was amazing, and a great deal in comparison to the rest of the restaurants there! Shortly after that we drove back to the airport and just rested by the gate. The flight wasn't amazing, but I guess it's hard to complain after having such a great time.

Told you it would be long! We loved being able to get away and explore a new place together. I'll try to get some more photos up soon, but don't want to make any promises!

For All You Dog Owners Out There!

noreply@blogger.com (Nate and Heather) — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 16:05:00 +0000

HOLY COW!!!!! This could not have been a better investment....if you own a dog (or even a cat for that matter), you need to get the FURminator (and yes, that video is actually very accurate as far as the actual brushing outcome). I got one at PetsMart last night, and Bunker has never lost so much hair in one 5 minute brushing session. Not to advertise for them or anything, but this brush (albeit expensive) was definitely worth the money.

On another note, we have officially started the photography website and blog. We'd love for you all to go check it out, and pass it on to anyone you know who might be looking for a photographer for any reason (we're willing to travel pretty much anywhere if we need to)! You can either click on the links above, or just go to www.natedisarrophoto.com and/or www.natedisarro.blogspot.com. We would really love to get more involved in the photography world, so any help would be great!

Otherwise, we have officially moved in to the new house, and are about halfway through the unpacking process. Hopefully when it's all done we will post some pictures, but at the moment there are still boxes everywhere. The hot tub is great, and we're just plugging through the week so we can finish the unpacking on Saturday!

That's about it for now, but go check out the website soon, and be on the lookout for the pictures from Landon and Sara's wedding that we did a couple weeks ago!

On Another Note

noreply@blogger.com (Nate and Heather) — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 17:13:00 +0000

Well hello again, feelin' a little blog-happy today! Just wanted to give a little heads up:

Nate and I, as most of you know, have been blessed with photography equipment and a passion to record special moments in time. We are looking to take this love a little bit further and start doing more weddings, portraits, dog photography (for me!), maternity, engagement, and family portraits as a side business and just see where the Lord takes it. I am posting this for two reasons: to ask for prayer in this endeavor and to let you know that we will (in the near-ish future) be creating a new blog to share our adventures in photography as well as our adventures in life. I'll keep you all updated, but just wanted to post this as a head's up!

P.S. We are going here in May. A little excited? I think so!

A Late One.....

noreply@blogger.com (Nate and Heather) — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 16:31:00 +0000

Cheesin' it up for the camera!

Seriously, how adorable are our parents?

Yep, still in love! He's so cute!

Close up of the family!!!

A little more scenery in this one!

True, this post is a little late, but better late than never! My parents and sister came to visit us about a month ago, and we had so much fun showing them around our new home. They came in on a Saturday, and we just hung out and had a yummy salmon dinner. I got introduce them to making risotto, which is SO GOOD and super versatile! Only problem: it makes a ridiculous amount of food, which is good when you're feeding a lot of people but can lead to overeating if there's just two of you....not that I know from experience or anything!

Sunday we went and hiked the First Flatiron at Chautauqua Park in Boulder. It was a great hike, probably one of my favorite easier ones. Then we went back home, hung out and napped a little, and then went to church. Afterwards, we ate at CB&Potts, a brewery that's close to where we live, and had a good burger dinner!

Monday, my family and I got to go visit our new house! They got to check out the inside and see where we'll be living for the next couple of years (that is so weird to say! Who knew we would ever be grown-ups with a mortgage?) We went down to Cherry Creek in Denver, a fun little area with some great shopping and cool restaurants. That afternoon, Salah and I took the bikes out and rode to Standley Lake, about 2 minutes from where we'll soon be living, and rode back....something like 25 miles or so! We were pretty hungry after that, so we all ate a great dinner and relaxed the rest of the night.

Tuesday (their last day...sad!) we drove out to Estes Park, which is where all of these pictures are from. We went all the way up to Bear Lake, which apparently is just a beautiful, easy hike in the Spring/Summer/Fall, but it was REALLY cold and windy. We really didn't dress for that weather, but Mom and Dad had their jogging clothes in the trunk of the car, so we all threw the clothes on and just went with it. We walked around on the frozen lake, took pictures, and just enjoyed eachother. Then we drove back down to the town and ate lunch, walked up and down the main street. That night we had an AWESOME dinner because it was Daddy's birthday, with strawberry shortcake parfait things...so good!

Wednesday they had to leave, I'll admit I definitely cried a lot when they drove off. I am so so glad that they all had the chance to come up and visit, I miss them so much it made me so happy to see them! To my family, I love you guys!

New Home - We're growing up

noreply@blogger.com (Nate and Heather) — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 14:28:00 +0000

Nate here - I figured its been a long time since either one of us have written anything on here so maybe its time I write something for once. 2009 has been a great year so far... a little different that how we started things off in 2008. Just to recap, we ended 2007 with my grandfather having a heart attack, our apartment getting broken in to a week later and all of our "stuff" was stolen, and then another week later I busted my nose at work and thought I broke it. Oh yeah, and Bunker broke his tooth in there somewhere and had to have it extracted. Needless to say that left us feeling slightly defeated going into 2008. However, knowing that we didn't want to stay in the circumstances that we had been handed we decided to make the big decision to more to north Denver for a chance to get some fresh air... fast forward to 2009

So, now that we are already half way through March, this year has been pretty sweet. In just a few short months I have doubled my number of ski days for all the years combined that I have previously skied and Heather, in her first season of skiing, has successfully skied a "black" and she did an amazing job. It has been a lot of fun getting to go to the mountains and see her get exponentially better each time off the lift. If I'm not careful she will be beating me down the mountain.

Something else that has really been a blast for us this year is the continuation of serving with Watermark Church. That is one of the main reasons we chose to move to the exact location that we did in CO and we are really glad that we are able to be a part of something like this church plant. If you are ever up in the Denver area come hang out with us. We have seen a lot of different people come through the doors and its really cool to see how people are learning how to live in a community that doesn't judge you for your past or present situation and just wants to see you know Christ more. Way cool.

Probably the biggest news for now though is that we are in the process of purchasing our first home! We are really excited to finally have a place that will feel like a permanent home for the first time since before college. Its weird to think that I have moved at least once a year for the last 8 years and now we will finally be in one place for at least a few years, hopefully longer. So, about the house. It is 2 streets away from a straight shot to the mountains which is kind of crazy. For those who don't know, Colorado owns a lot of land still that is called "open space" that can never be built on. Basically it is a state park that preserves the land so that CO will never be a congested mess all the way to the mountains. There is open space basically all the way from our house to the mountains which means that no one will ever be able to block our view. SWEET!

Also, there is a massive dog park about 2 blocks over that will be a great place for Bunker to go release all of his crazy energy.

Down the street about 1/2 a mile (literally) is one of the few lakes in CO too. Its not a huge lake but definitely big enough to go for a nice boat ride on or do some fishing, or just go hang out at the lake and look at the mountains.

So all of those things are great and all, but there is one other thing that makes this house really cool. It has a hot tub. I know, I was excited too. The cool thing about hot tubs in CO is that you can use them year round. If we had a hot tub in TX we would have probably used it for a month in the "winter" and then it would be too hot to use it anymore. In CO though, it stays cool enough at night through the summer to be able to take advantage of a nice warm tub of water after a long day hiking in the mountains.

Check out the pics below (click for larger version) and you can get an idea of what the house looks like. We close on April 15 and move in on the 20th. WOOHOO!

So, new home, relocating to a place we weren't familiar with, all after have a chain of crappy events... I think we are growing up. I'll let you know what I think about that soon.

Randoms

noreply@blogger.com (Nate and Heather) — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 22:54:00 +0000

Beautiful flowers in San Fran....look at that amazing color! Makes me SO excited about Farmer's Market coming up in the Spring! Even if we can't afford to pay the crazy prices, it's still so much fun!

Another pic from beautiful California...can you count how many different shades of blue are in this picture?

My first "Big Mountain" (not sure if it really needs to be capitalized, but better safe than sorry) experience! We finally got there after 3 hours driving in zero visibility. Makes Dallas winters feel like the stinkin' summer!

Nate and I before we started skiing Winter Park.

Winter is turning out to be a lot of fun...I'm not horrible at skiing anymore, I'm getting used to the snow, and I've recently discovered a love of running in the snow (who knew?) Nate and I went and looked a house the other day...didn't really turn out to be ideal (i.e. structural issues) but it was such a surreal experience in and of itself. We've discovered that it might actually be less expensive to buy a home here, so we've started looking around just to figure out if there's a place that meets our stringent guidelines. Hey, not just any house can be a Disarro house.

It's become very normal/still weird to think about grown-up things like buying a house and mortgages and interest rates (still sounds like a foreign language). I guess it's got to happen sometime, but I feel kind of funny even typing it out!

Bunker has been having SO MUCH FUN in the snow! He loves running in it, and it's hilarious when it makes him all frisky. He hops around a lot when it gets cold out, so we have a great time taking him on walks and everything.

I think that's about all...we're kind of boring other than the growing up stuff, but will definitely continue to try to keep this updated more often!

2 Years

noreply@blogger.com (Nate and Heather) — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 21:27:00 +0000

Tuesday of this week marked our 2 year anniversary! And what an interesting two years it's been. I think that Nate and I can both truly say that we have never had so much fun and we've never undergone so much hurt, selfishness, loneliness, and just overall instability. Super fun, right?

We were told when we were getting married that marriage is like a mirror that you see the "real" you reflected in. At first I thought that was really dumb, and like all engaged couples (I'm sure), I thought that surely MY husband and I would never have that experience. That we were open and honest and truly capable to enter into marriage and not have a flaw. I'll tell you though, marriage and love in general truly is a mirror, and it makes you see some of the best and some of the worst you have to offer.

I've learned that no matter how much you plan and how many precautions you take, the Lord's plan for you will probably not match up to everything you plan for. For example, we live in Colorado now, and for the longest time I was sure I would be a Texan for life. With such a great state (and I still truly believe that) why would you ever want to leave? But after two years in Dallas I started to feel trapped and completely unlearned in the ways of other people, even in our own country. Nate and I both felt called to leave, and not knowing what would happen, we up and moved to Colorado. I think that the drive to leave and start something new is what led us on our road to discovering what marriage is about.

Once in Colorado we were truly alone (not as in there are no people around us, but just without people we had really known before). Helping to start Watermark in Denver helped us to become less selfish because there were needs outside of our marriage to fulfill. The Lord began to show each of us how selfish we were being with one another, and began to help us communicate our needs and wants in much more mature ways. Not to say that everything is perfect, because I think that is an improbability in this world, but we have realized how truly and amazingly blessed we are in our marriage. We love one another so much, and can't wait to spend the rest of our lives together (cheesy but oh so true!!!)
On another note, our sweet sweet Bunker turned 2 years old on the same day! This is one of the first pictures we took of him, circa 8 weeks old and 9 lbs. To this day, he doesn't realize he's not 9 lbs. anymore (he's about 100 now). That's one big baby boy!

Thanksgiving

noreply@blogger.com (Nate and Heather) — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 04:59:00 +0000

So this Thanksgiving, Nate and I were really bummed that we couldn't make a trip back to Texas to see our amazing families and hang out with everyone. Fortunately, some of our friends from church opened up their house to all of us that could not make it home, and we had an ugly sweater contest/Thanksgiving dinner with friends instead! Here are the pictures, in no particular order...The whole group, three of which are all in Bill's 4XL sweater in the middle back...

This is Stephanie...she and her husband Jason were so awesome to open up their home to all of us to eat and play and laugh! (P.S. this is probably one of my favorite pictures ever!)

My sweet husband, the photographer, and the winner of the ugly sweater contest. Everything he is wearing in this picture is women's clothing. I'm so proud!

I thought that this picture of Jordan was way too good to pass up. Doesn't he look joyful? I would be too if I had puppy dogs napping on my sweater...

Amy and her homemade ugly sweater (not so ugly, but very fun!)

I think that we had to take this picture about 50 times to get the timing of the "snow" (marshmallows) just right so that you could actually see them in the picture!

This could be one of the funniest pictures I have ever seen! Stef and I decided to go for the 80's look, but I think she might be rockin' it better than I did!

This is Nate's favorite picture of me from the evening...I'll be honest, I'm really not yelling, I actually have no idea what I'm doing here!

Family portrait!

The girls!

Jason. Seriously, I think that Nate and the boys laughed at this photo the remainder of the night. Not that I can blame them though!

And last, but certainly not least, Bill and Sarah in his 4XL sweater...super cute, eh?

Hit 'Em Wreck 'Em Texas Tech!

noreply@blogger.com (Nate and Heather) — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 17:11:00 +0000

THE END.

L-O-V-E

noreply@blogger.com (Nate and Heather) — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 16:37:00 +0000

Today I got an email from my mom that had all of these quotes on there about what kids think love means. I thought I'd be super cheesy and post it on here for everyone to read and think about. I think that there's a lot to be said through the simplicity of a child, and the fact that these kids notice, they actually SEE, what love is...that's amazing. Can you say that you love someone like these kids describe?

When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love.
-Rebecca, 8

When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. Your name is safe in their mouth.
-Billy, 4

Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.
-Karl, 5

Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.
-Chrissy, 6

Love is what makes you smile when you're tired.
-Terri, 4

Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK.
-Danny, 7

Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My mommy and daddy are like that...They look gross when they kiss.
-Emily, 8

Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas is you stop opening presents and listen.
-Bobby, 7

If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend you hate.
-Nikka, 6

Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt and then he wears it every day.
-Noelle, 7

Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well.
-Tommy, 6

During my piano recital I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore.
-Cindy, 8

My mommy loves me more than anybody. You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night.
-Clare, 6

Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.
-Elaine, 5

Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford.
-Chris, 7

Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left alone all day.
-Mary Ann, 4

I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.
-Lauren, 4

When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you.
-Karen, 7

You really shouldn't say "I love you" unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.
-Jessica, 8

CAMPING!

noreply@blogger.com (Nate and Heather) — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 13:57:00 +0000

The whole group of us in the middle of a hike...one of eight trillion pictures taken by a sweet old lady!

Kraig...not real sure what he's winking for, but Lauren and the half of Cherise's face are really cute!

Robbie, doing the mountain-man-rock-jumper thing!

Nate's boot? I think this was after he fell in the river while trying to cross at the most difficult spot known to man...

Michael and Nate, displaying the bromance full-force!

One of the many elk we saw this weekend, out in the field outside of our campground.

This big boy was actually IN our campground!

The group on our way back home from Estes Park.

This past weekend we went camping for the first ever Watermark Denver Married Couples excursion! On a side note, it was my first time to ever go camping, so I was definitely looking forward to it. Nate and I registered and got camping equipment for our wedding, and it only took us about 2 years to use it! Anyway, the two of us plus five other couples headed up to Estes Park to begin our adventure…

First things first: breakfast. We all met up in Boulder, and, at Robbie’s suggestion, ate breakfast at the Village Coffee Shop. I’m telling you, this place should be on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives (a show on Food Network for all of you who don’t know what that is). However, I had one of the best breakfast burritos I’ve ever had…all smothered in pork green chile…YUM! Then it was off to the mountains, where we had the chance to see the Aspen trees changing. Driving through Estes Park was a lot of fun…all two minutes of it…but it is a beautiful town.

We were camping at Morraine Park campground, so we stopped and set everything up, then went hiking at Lawn Lake trail. It was really gorgeous and a fairly easy hike, so we all had a great time. When we got to the falls, we hiked around the water a little bit, and Nate decided to go down and try to get some pictures from a different angle. When he tried to cross again, he fell in the water. Michael offered to take Nate’s camera so that he could cross a little more easily, and in the process of handing off the camera, Michael’s foot slipped in the water too!

After the hiking excursion, we drove back to camp to find out that our food had been confiscated! Apparently we had “improperly stored” our food, and the rangers came by and took both of the coolers. So, we had to go get it back, and then started cooking dinner. Nate made fajitas (steak and chicken) which were awesome and then we all settled down to talk around the campfire and eat s’mores. We had a great time getting to know all of the other couples in a deeper way, and were truly blessed at some of the stories we heard.

That night was windy and rainy and cold, but I was snuggled down deep in my sleeping bag. In the morning, I did NOT want to get up, but unfortunately it was time to head home.

We had a great time, and I definitely enjoyed my first time camping. I can’t wait to go again!

Back in Action!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Nate and Heather) — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 13:46:00 +0000

Ok, so first things first: above is the view I have driving to work every morning. Not bad, eh? These are the Flatirons (there's 3 of them) and there are TONS of trails and climbing opportunities on/around them. So much fun, it's like taking a vacation every weekend!
Second, I now work as a Customer Service rep for Spyder and Cloudveil, and I truly enjoy my job. The people I work with are fantastic, a lot of fun, and it's a very athletic atmosphere. I have my own little office (cubicle, but feels like an office) and am still able to coach in the evenings which is great.

Working for Spyder/Cloudveil is a lot of fun; however, it has taught me so much about people. I have really seen the impact that overwhelming materialism has on our society. I'll be honest: crying about a luxury item is a bit much, and I'm just going to leave it at that. It has also widened my perspective on Christians as well. Anytime I am griped out by someone on the phone, I wonder if they are a believer as well. And, if they are, then it's no wonder that non-believers think we're all a bunch of crazy hypocrites. If someone really and truly believed in Jesus as their savior to the point that they would follow His command to love one another.

"And this is His command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love
one another as He commanded us." 1 John 3:23

Anyway, all this to say, the next time you're upset about something, think about the impact that you are having on the people around you. Are you handling your anger and frustration in a way that would honor the Lord? Or are you handling it in a way that makes you look like a brat? This post is not intended to judge, but rather to help infuse a little thoughtfulness into our daily lives.

On a lighter note, I hope everyone has a fantastic and blessed day!

Crazy Summer

noreply@blogger.com (Nate and Heather) — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 15:50:00 +0000

Nate and I bought a log cabin in Colorado!!! We close on it July 15, and it's so great...obviously a beautiful deck and an amazing kitchen and HUGE living room and master bedroom! We are so excited....except all that is a lie. We didn't buy a house but IF we did, then this is what I might want it to look like.

Anyway, things are going pretty well here. Nate is really enjoying his job, and we worked the first event last Saturday...the Lobster Fest in Niwot (pronounced Ny-watt). It was pretty fun, and we got to have boiled lobsters for the first time here in the middle of the country. It was actually very tasty; however, we both concluded that the goodness of the lobster does not justify the ridiculous amount of work that you have to go through to get the meat. We both got cuts on our hands from the little pointies on the arms.

Next up, our friend Austin is in town with the AVP tour, and we could not be more excited to see him. AND we get to go to Boulder, which is our future home (no matter what Nate thinks)! Anyway, we've been having fun hanging out with him, so we'll definitely be posting some pictures from this weekend!

(this is Austin...we're proud of him!)

Born Anew

noreply@blogger.com (Nate and Heather) — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 14:30:00 +0000

Confession: I am born anew in the groovy tunes of Earth, Wind, and Fire. I am listening to "Let's Groove" and I really cannot get enough of it. I'm pretty sure that I am in heaven right now, all I need is to have this song on my iPod and be walking up a mountain. Which I will be doing in about 20 minutes (minus the iPod thing). I am not much of a dancer, but this music makes me want to get up out of this computer chair and get my boogy on. Actually, I think I'll get to doing that now...

Alright, I'm back. Anyway, I know that my wonderful acoustic-loving husband will probably be embarrassed to have his name associated with this post, but I just had to get it out there. Moral of the story: go hug a friend, read your Bible, and groove to the sounds of Earth, Wind, and Fire.

Supersize Me

noreply@blogger.com (Nate and Heather) — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 03:36:00 +0000

Recently I have really gotten into documentaries, and I've got to say that of a lot of them Supersize Me is one of my favorites. It's funny, but most of all truthful. It is based on scientific fact. Granted, Morgan Spurlock was pretty dumb to put his body through all of the crap that he did, but I can imagine that his experiment (hopefully) stopped a lot of fast food junkies in their tracks.

Now, I would be a HUGE liar if I said that I never eat fast food. I mean, it's fast. Duh. But it never hurts to watch this movie every now and then to get a big reality check. It is just amazing to me the lack of education in this country on something so important as taking care of your body. Another thing that baffles me is the amount of people who actually are educated on the needs of the body, and blatantly ignore it. When I was a personal trainer in Dallas, there were several people I consulted with who had been sent to the gym BY THEIR DOCTOR. To me that's pretty extreme in and of itself. There were several people who were/are on the fast track to an early death because of their lack of interest in healthy living. The best (really not best) part about that is the fact that I told them they were on the fast track to an early death, and it did not phase them a bit!

When I was in my training to be a personal trainer, one of the teachers at the Cooper Institute in Dallas said this, and I must admit I have to agree:

"How many people do you know who grow old and say that they can't imagine getting to

be 80+ years old? I think it's because the majority of America has put itself into a physical

rut, causing them to suffer from self-inflicted medical problems. The best way to guard

yourself from that certain pain is to eat a healthy diet and exercise regularly. I don't know

about you guys, but when I die, I don't want it to be from a preventable disease. I just want

to go to sleep and never wake up."

Alright, so I know that's pretty morbid, but think about it: so many things that people suffer from (i.e. diabetes, heart problems, many different types of cancers, etc.) are directly caused by lack of care. Not all of them, but some. I have to admit, I agree with my teacher. When I die, I don't want it to be some sort of slow, painful death that could have been preventable. What do you think?

Our Colorado Adventures (the first 1.5 weeks)

noreply@blogger.com (Nate and Heather) — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 14:57:00 +0000

This is a great picture that Nate took of Boulder Falls...SO PRETTY!!!
And some pretty flowers on our hike...
And some pinecones...Bunker still doesn't know what to think of them...
And some more pretty flowers.
This is our first hike in Chautaqua with Ashley and Austin, and our new friends Robbie and Stephanie. Robbie and Stephanie were amazing to watch when they just ran down the mountain like it was no big deal!
This is the view of our little hiking party from a little ways up the first Flatiron. And Robbie says that this is an easy climb!
The city of Boulder from the Flatirons...VERY pretty!
Austin and Ashley...they are so cute, and so nice to help us out as much as they do!
I bet Nate gets a little mad about me putting this picture up, but that's what you get when you make faces in a picture! Plus I don't look so hot in the one underneath this!

It has been quite some time since we blogged! It was just crazy around Dallas trying to get everything together to leave for Denver and then the last week we were there I got really sick! It was pretty wretched, I hate getting sick, but am feeling all better now. I just think it was some sort of severe allergy to molds, but my mom thinks it might have been the flu or something. YIKES!!!

Anyway, just so everyone knows how this all went down, on June 1 Nate and I rented a HUGE truck from Penske (we totally recommend them if anyone is ever going to move themselves by the way). All that day and a little bit of the next day we loaded and loaded and loaded, which helped me come to the realization that we have WAY too much stuff. Anyway, we left on June 2 for Lubbock, Nate driving the huge 26-foot truck with my car being towed behind it, and Bunker and I in Nate's truck behind him. We got to Lubbock around 5:30pm (I think) and had a wonderful barbeque dinner with my mom and dad, then I coughed all night, and they forced me to go to bed. The next morning my dad had to teach summer school, so my mom hopped in Nate's truck with me and Bunker, and we went to the Lubbock airport to pick up Nate's dad, Jack. From there we drove to Denver in about 10-11 hours. That was a long drive!

The night we got to Denver, our friends Ashley and Austin brought us delicious enchiladas and some of the best chocolate covered strawberries I've ever had. It was awesome, and such a great relief to see people we know who were so willing to give of themselves and bring us dinner at such a stressful time. That night we unloaded a pretty decent amount of stuff (we had to in order to get to the mattresses). The next day was pretty rainy, so my mom and I started unpacking boxes and stuff, and then that afternoon Nate and Jack unloaded the big stuff from the back of the truck. I gotta say, I was pretty impressed because some of that stuff is HEAVY. It was nice to have it all done though.

June 6 (Friday) we took the truck back to a Penske location, and then that afternoon we went in to Boulder, which is such a cute city. We had a great time and ate at the Lazy Dog on Pearl Street, then went hiking to Boulder Falls and went on some sort of exercise trail at the base of a mountain. It was an absolutely gorgeous day, and we were glad that we could let my mom and Nate's dad enjoy some of the beauty that we get to see all the time now!

Saturday we took our parents to the airport. It was really really sad, so I'm not going to dwell on it, but there were a lot of tears (mainly from the Heather side of things). It's just very weird and a little scary to be so far away from everything you've ever known, and we're not even that far! Still, we were sad to see our parents go. Then we went to Walmart and spent what we thought was an obscene amount of money on groceries. We took Bunker on a walk and he made a friend named Rocky, a Lab-Rottweiler mix. I don't really remember what we did that night...woops!

Sunday we met with our church for the first time, and it was such a great gathering of people. Todd Wagner from Watermark Dallas was there with his family, and it was so nice to be in an intimate setting where we could really get to know his heart and his vision that he has for Watermark Dallas and be able to see the heart that we need to have for the ministry here in Denver. It was a lot of fun to get to meet so many new people too!

Finally, the last two days before Nate started work we went hiking in Chautaqua (I think that's spelled correctly) with our friends Ashley and Austin and Robbie and Stephanie. Robbie and Stephanie live in Boulder so they are pretty much expert hikers. We had a great time and got a great workout. Then Tuesday we did all of the boring stuff like switched insurance offices and got our driver's licenses, registrations, and emissions tests. Woohoo.

Since then we've had a great time. I've taken Bunker hiking, and we've been hiking a few times. We're getting used to the altitude and are making some great friends. So far we really like being here, and are just so blessed that everything has worked out so well. The Lord is truly amazing in the ways he cares for us. We hope to blog some more soon with pictures of our place, but we still have a little cleaning to do before that!

SURPRISE!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Nate and Heather) — Sat, 17 May 2008 01:56:00 +0000

Alright, it's official...Nate, Bunker and I are moving to Denver! We leave in about 2 weeks (June 3 to be exact) to drive to Lubbock and then on June 4 we are driving up to the other "big D". It's pretty nuts, we definitely never really imagined actually living outside of Texas, but it is something that we are REALLY excited about. Of course, moving away from family and great friends is a sad thing for us to do, but the Lord works in crazy ways, and we are pretty pumped to see what His will is for us. More to come on this, but feel free to ask us questions!

Time's a-flyin'

noreply@blogger.com (Nate and Heather) — Fri, 02 May 2008 03:21:00 +0000

WOW!!! What a semester...I am just about finished with my first semester of grad school, and I gotta admit that it just flew by. I have my finals on Monday, and with God's help I'll do really well and keep my 4.0 GPA. Not so much in love with the Dallas heat and humidity, but I'm trying to learn to be thankful that we're not somewhere completely miserable (yeah, like...well, I don't know where else, but you get the idea). Bunker is doing well, he LOVES to talk to his mom and dad and play kong and squeaky dumbell. He's a nut, but so much fun that I want another one! Anyway, long story short there's a lot to catch up on but I don't have time to do anything but work and study until Monday around 3pm. Then margarita celebration for end of finals/Cinco de Mayo. THEN blogging. So have a wonderful wonderful weekend!

Today

noreply@blogger.com (Nate and Heather) — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 14:19:00 +0000

I'm running through the gates of love as fast as I can

I can't wait to see You, 'cause I'm a desperate man

You made the light and sent it down to show us who you are

Now it's bursting out my heart

My desire is burning like a million stars

And I'll keep reaching out, reaching out for You

I'd be nothing without You, yeah I would die

If I didn't have Your hand, if I couldn't look into Your eyes

Jesus, if Your love's the fuel then I'm the desperate flame

That's screaming out Your name

My desire is burning like a million stars

And I'll keep reaching out, reaching out for You

My desire is burning with the fire You sparked

And I'll keep reaching out, reaching out for You

This is glory rising over a new horizon

I see Your love, I feel Your smile

You're in my heart and I will run

With all I have to You

My desire is burning like a million stars

And I'll keep reaching out, reaching for You

My desire is burning with the fire You sparked

And I'll keep reaching out, reaching out for You

I'm reaching out for You

I'm reaching out for You, You, You

My Desire by Phil Wickham

So wow, this song is TOTALLY AWESOME. I love it because I feel like it accurately describes the constant wonder of God's total power, love, peace, creation, joy, strength, etc. I can't even name it all, but I love the feeling that I get when I have one of those "AH-HA!" moments where for a fleeting second I see how long eternity really is, what death really looks like, and through that feel the power of what God did for us. I can't imagine going through this life without God's constant love and the amazingly poetic and romantic ways that He shows it. And like the song says, I keep reaching out for Him. How could you not?

Fun with Lightroom

noreply@blogger.com (Nate and Heather) — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 19:28:00 +0000

So, I have been playing around in a sweet program called Photoshop Lightroom alot lately and it has to be one of the coolest programs out there for photographers. Often when I play around with new software, I don't really learn all of its capabilities until a few months down the road when I really get the chance to dig in deep. I think I am at that point with Lightroom. I have learned a technique that is used in a lot of advertisements and I think it is going to take me to the next level! (kidding...kind of). Expect more posts from me now that I am having fun with this! Enjoy. Click images to see a larger version.

Happy Hump Day

noreply@blogger.com (Nate and Heather) — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 15:25:00 +0000

Last night I got to go take a few pictures of some pretty young ladies. One of them being my sister-in-law, and the other my hot wife. It is always fun to get out and have a good time making people you love act like idiots while other people are watching! I'm glad that I am usually behind the camera in these instances. More later.

Happy Easter!!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Nate and Heather) — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 00:25:00 +0000

This is a picture of the Disarro side of my family from Easter! It is also the soon-to-be Riley side of our family, seeing as how Janet (my sweet mother-in-law) and Mark just got engaged last weekend...CONGRATULATIONS! From the left is Jennifer (JK), Josh, Mark, Janet, James (Jimmy Tommy, Chrissy's bf), Chrissy, Caden, JD, Brooke, Nate, and then me!
Honestly, I do believe that this book is in fact the MOST spectacular book I have ever read next to Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers. There is no love like the kind of love that you get and give to an animal. I'm not saying that it's necessarily better than, say, the love between man and wife, but I do believe that we are so flawed as humans that it makes it hard to love one another the way that a dog can love you. I know for us, even though Bunker gets kind of rambunctious sometimes, he thinks we're the greatest humans in the entire world. There's no doubt about it: we screw up royally on pretty much a daily basis, and Bunker is always there, wagging his huge tail and kissing us and loving us as though we lead perfect lives.

I feel like this week I have been particularly negative and boring and cranky, and I feel like it's time for me to confess. I still definitely live with the all-consuming thoughts about my body image, and I am sick and tired of it. I am so tired of living with the lies that the devil keeps feeding me and the reminders of my mistakes and the fact that he is rubbing it in my face and I keep on believing it. For anyone who does not know, I have struggled with this vicious cycle for going on 13 years now. And the sad part about it is that I have no idea how to stop it. How do you keep yourself from thinking about the past and knowing that it was you who did all those horrible things, to yourself and to other people? I heard a story in church this morning about a man who struggled with homosexuality for something like 15+ years, and since turning everything over to the Lord has overcome his issues, gotten married to a wonderful woman, and now has a baby girl names Hope.

Although drastic, I can't help but be reminded of my own shortcomings and issues and rebellions. I live in a constant up-down state of overeating, working out too hard, controlling caloric intake, and then blowing it on random food. I look at myself in the mirror and see huge and bloated. I gave away all of my nicer clothes because I didn't feel like I was thin enough or comfortable enough to actually look good in them. So now, when I want to look nice or go somewhere nice, I have no clothes to wear. It also gets in the way of my relationship with my wonderful husband, who loves me regardless. He is a very social person, and I felt like I was too...when I was hardly eating anything and working out like a maniac. But the second I stopped doing that, I felt like I "let myself go" and since have started again on this roller coaster of disordered eating again.

For anyone who's reading this and is like "Wow, she needs some serious help" you're right. I do need help. I need the prayers and guidance and loving wisdom of Godly people who are in tune with my Maker's love and plan for my life. So if nothing else, I just hope that you would throw up a quick prayer for me, that I would get over myself and become a woman who can fully, 100% devote herself to the Lord's will and quit thinking about myself.

Our Little Dude

noreply@blogger.com (Nate and Heather) — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 01:06:00 +0000

And ten days later, we're back! Here are some sweet pictures of our little dude, Bunker. He's fantastic, although he has totally calmed down a little since we moved back to Plano. I'm pretty sure that he misses his bestie, Levi. They finally got to see one another the other day at the dog park, and it was just like old times. Things are going pretty well with us right now, we're just kinda hanging out and getting used to living with Nate's mom and sharing a house. She makes it easy though!

As I speak I am watching Dancing With the Stars. I honestly cannot say enough about how spectacular this show is. I would have to say that the two TV shows I am obsessed with (by that I mean I actually watch them and don't just use them as background noise) are Dancing With the Stars and The Hills. I'm sorry, and I know that Nate will be embarrassed for me when he reads this, but I just can't get enough of it. In all honesty, and this is not meant to be degrading, but watching The Hills with all of its drama makes me feel like a better and more grounded person. Plus it's entertaining.

I'm definitely still waiting for God to reveal to us what His will is for our lives. There are definitely some amazing things going on, and the Lord is truly showing us daily why we believe in him. Oh, yeah, our friend Austin (hey fatty!!!) is in a movie?!?!?! What's that, he's famous? Oh, and he's going to dedicate his Oscar to us? Sweet sauce!

Not real sure where this post is going...due to circumstances I can't post everything that's going on in our lives until we know for certain what's going on, but continued prayer is most definitely appreciated. I know that the Lord will reveal these things to us in His time, and that is fine with us because it's turned it into an adventure we didn't know we would have! Til then, be blessed and wreck 'em!

Denver Part Deux

noreply@blogger.com (Nate and Heather) — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 02:59:00 +0000

So this blogger is taking FOREVER to load pictures tonight, and I really do not have the patience to wait on it...therefore, you can find more pictures of our Denver trip some other time. And believe me, they're good! We had an awesome time just getting away for a few days and hanging out somewhere besides Dallas. The Lord really blessed us with the time and means to go and just hang out in a really sweet area. We just got to drive around in the warm weather, the blizzard weather, and hike in the snowy-yet-sunny weather too! I just wish that Bunker could've been there to actually experience the snow!

This is just an updating blog...we are moving this weekend, and I have about a million things to do for school, all while we're working full time and have a full-time child (I mean dog, I mean...). Anyway, it is a very busy couple of weeks that we have had!

I hope you have a blessed day, and that the Lord will show Himself to you in ways that you never thought possible. I know that He has done that with me, and it has reaffirmed my faith in His unfailing capacity for love. Have a good one and wreck 'em!

Denver, CO

noreply@blogger.com (Nate and Heather) — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 18:49:00 +0000

Here's a little picture I took a few days ago over by a field near where we live. I love the fun stuff you can do with digital software! Any of you who like to take pictures of stuff and wonder why it doesn't look as cool as someone else's stuff need to invest in Photoshop Lightroom. Its half the price of photoshop and does some really cool editing.

On another note, we are heading up to Denver this weekend for a quick little get-away. We are really excited to get out of here for a few days, and be looking for some cool pictures when we get back. Have a great weekend and Keep checking up on us!