{iPhone Rewind} :: July

July felt busy before it even started. There was definitely A LOT going on!!

I got it in my head that I wanted to make popsicles. So we bought a popsicle mold and started experimenting with recipes. The picture above is our first run: Mango Pineapple Popsicles. These fruit pops were super yummy {cheap and healthy too}, and I am excited to try different kinds throughout the summer!

We spent July 4th over at our sweet friends place...and got to be a "Ray for a Day." :) We grilled out, the guys did some skeet shooting, and we enjoyed some fireworks. It was a great day, and we are so thankful for these sweet friends!

Mike sent me this photo of Sasha with a text that said: "Sasha's thought bubble: 'Where is the most inconvenient place for me to take a nap?' " Haha- right in the doorway. She's a mess.

July was also wedding month for my sweet friend Laura! I got to help her with several things, and this morning we worked on centerpiece luminaries and programs.

  

Addie is one of the few kids in our home group, and she has recently become mobile. Which to Sasha means easily-accessible food access. Addie LOVES Sasha and they have become best of friends. I snapped this photo while Addie was talking to Sasha and giving her hugs under the table :)

As Matron of Honor, I was busy preparing several things for Laura's big day...bachelorette party, MOH speech, rehearsal bouquet, and some other fun surprises for the bride.



Mike and I celebrated our 2nd anniversary, and we received this sweet gift from my parents :)

 

Mike had the opportunity to preach at Mercy Church in Frisco for a couple of weeks. I love when he has the opportunity to do this, as I know he is best operating within his gifts. You can listen to his sermons here and here.

 

Mike and I celebrated our 2nd anniversary. We started our day off with exchanging gifts and a Starbucks breakfast :)

 

I had a hair appointment at the Dry Bar before Laura's wedding. I really love this place and was thankful for the fun little splurge. #nomakeup

 

I loved this idea I saw on Pinterest and wanted to duplicate it as a fun touch to Laura's wedding. We texted this picture to David right before his bride walked down the aisle to meet him!

 

And because they are adorable, this was his response :)

 

 Thank you TXU for sending us these awesome Sonic coupons! We will definitely be utilizing these :)

 

DIY: Sweet Pea Baby Blanket

I made a baby blanket for sweet Presley Kate. She came early, so I was scrambling at the last minute to finish it {literally tied it off to completion on the car ride over to visit her this weekend haha}. But I think it turned out cute, and her mama loved it! I chose these colors to match her nursery.

I used this pattern from Lion Brand. It turned out a little smaller than I thought, but it would be easy to add squares and make it the size you wanted. Thankfully, baby girl is still tiny, so it's just her size!

Materials: 3 skeins Loops & Threads Snuggly Wuggly Yarn- 1 Fresh Green, 1 White, 1 Candy Pink
Tools: Crochet Hook Size I, large eye needle, scissors

Total Project Cost: $18

High Five for Friday!

{one} Our sweet niece made her debut early!! Little Presley Kate arrived on Tuesday morning, and we were able to go visit her on Wednesday evening. I might be a biased aunt, but she's perfect and absolutely adorable :) Both mom and baby are doing well, and I couldn't be more excited for Ben and Lindsay!

Proud Aunt Erin with precious baby girl!!

{two} I found out this week that the AWP {Average Wholesale Price} of my Humira injections increased. I realize that happens with medications all the time, but when you already rearranged your budget to accommodate a small car payment, a $50 increase is a lot. I know I need to prepare myself for a lifetime of increases, but it's still hard to swallow at first...

{three} Hello work week back after vacation. Kicked. My. Butt. Ha- talk about getting back to reality! Of course, it probably seemed worse because my sweet co-worker was out on vacation this week...but I guess it was only fair since she filled in for me last week :) Some goods news came this week though; I got somewhat of a promotion and a raise!! {hello perfect provision for Humira cost increase!} I knew that I would be receiving added responsibilities with the bank going public, and so we are going to try a few new things in the coming months. While it will certainly mean more work, I am actually excited about the new challenges ahead. The raise is a nice bonus too! :)

{four} Thursday we had our second discussion in the Faith & Culture series at Coffee Squared in downtown McKinney. This sesson's topic was Defining Marriage. Mike did a great job navigating this hot button issue, and we had a great turnout!

{five} This weekend is also our second Vision Night for people to come hear about the direction and vision of our church. We will have BBQ and an opportunity to share what the Lord is doing through Redeemer Church in McKinney. We have a number of people interested in hearing more and possibly joining us in this adventure, so please pray that the Lord would begin to sow the seeds to grow His church!

Wedding Festivities :: Laura's Wedding Day!

The day had finally arrived, and I couldn't have been more excited to celebrate with my sweet friend as she married her love. I woke up remembering how I felt on my own wedding day, praying that Laura would enjoy every minute of her special day.

The Lord cleared the rain, and it was a perfect day. I headed to the Dry Bar for my hair appointment and then met up with the bride to join the "getting ready" fun.

Sweet Melissa was Laura's wedding day hair stylist

Proof I was there, just always behind the camera ;)

After every hair was in place and all the makeup was applied, we then headed to the church. 4pm{ceremony start time} couldn't come fast enough! :)

How sweet is this??

A message for David...

Getting into the dress!

Nicki photo bomb  :)

Reading her letter from David

So beautiful!!

This little guy was adorable in his tux!

As the bride, Laura is wearing the earrings she wore when she was my MOH, and as her MOH, I am wearing the earrings I wore as a bride 2 years ago :)

It would not be an official event with our surprise/excited faces ;)

So pretty...

One last touch up...

And then it was time. I had to put my camera away, so I don't have anything from the actual ceremony or reception. I had a bride to attend to after all! :) I promise to do a {Tying the Knot} post when I am able to purchase photos from Laura's photographer. But trust me when I say that everything was perfect. Every moment of the day was beautiful, and Laura and David are now happily married, soaking up their last few days in Jamaica!

Laura did have a photo booth, so Mike and I made sure to record our attendance ;) So I guess I have these pictures from the reception...

Hehe :)

Laura, I love you sweet friend, and I was beyond blessed to be a part of all the special moments of your day. Like I told you in my MOH speech, I am excited about this new adventure in our friendship as we now both navigate married life together. I am SO happy for you and David, and I hope you had a fantastic honeymoon. I highly recommend them, you know ;)

  

Wedding Festivities :: Wedding Day Eve!

Friday was a busy day, full of fun wedding festivities. But we started off the day with a fun treat- manicures and pedicures with the bride! It was SO relaxing, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Getting her nails did ;)

Most of the bridesmaids, including Laura's mom and aunts joined in the fun

This just might be Nicki's happy place :)

We had lunch at Brooklyn's so Laura could see some of her out of town family, and then we headed to the church to decorate for the ceremony. We ran a few last-minute errands, and then it was time to get ready for rehearsal!

The Bride and Groom the night before their wedding!

Good looking groomsmen

Adorable ring bearer :)

Listening intently to instructions

Beautiful bridesmaids

Walking in with her brothers

With the happy bride :)

Excited faces!!

Rehearsal was flawless and then we headed to Texas Land & Cattle for a delicious dinner. It was a sweet time with family and friends. David's mom and sister had been working on a slide show of his and Laura's growing up years, and they showed it as a fun surprise at dinner. 

My assigned seat was next to the bride :)

With my love!

Beautiful girls

More beautiful girls. Seriously.

I wasn't even the one getting married and I had a hard time going to sleep because I was so excited! I remember how excited I was the night before I got married, which made me that much more excited for Laura :)