{iPhone Rewind} :: October

My sweet Bible study girls surprised me with a basket full of goodies and encouraging notes! It was certainly unexpected but very much appreciated :)

We met a sweet new family that moved to the neighborhood and attended a birthday party for 2 of their kids. We enjoyed celebrating with them and getting to know their family a little better.

My sweet husband worked to find this special tea for me; it's not available in many places, so I was excited to have some! I love and miss my chai tea lattes, so now I can take my own decaf tea bags into Starbucks for them to make one for me!

I went to an essential oils class that a friend hosted because I am always researching and exploring natural remedies. Since I can no longer take ibuprofen or NSAIDs, I'm having to find some alternatives. I bought a little starter kit to try them and see how they work!

We have the beginnings of a little worship team! John and Lyndsey were gracious to help lead us in worship, complete with a ukelele :)

We got a new phone system at work, but for a few days I rocked both the new and old phones. Definitely a brain stretch for me haha.

I had my 10 year high school reunion. 10 years...that will make you feel old. But I am so thankful for my life and all the Lord has done over the past 10 years.

My sweet husband has been growing out his beard. He grew tired of it and decided to shave, but not before he sported the 'stache. Haha. I love him :)

  

We spent time in prayer at the new location the Lord has provided for our church. It's crazy to think that we have already outgrown our living room, but we are excited about what the Lord has next for us. More details on that to come soon! :)

SACS Class of 2003

This past weekend, Mike and I traveled to San Antonio for my 10 year high school reunion. I was able to take a couple of days off from work, so we were able to enjoy a lot of extra time with my parents. I really needed that, and I am so thankful we were able to spend the time with them!

 

We drove in Thursday and spent a quiet evening playing games and watching a movie. Friday we made the rounds with my grandparents, which is always a fun treat. I am really blessed to still have all 4 of my grandparents. My mom's parents are still in fairly good health, but my dad's parents are having more of a hard time. So I am always grateful for the time I get to visit with them.

 

Saturday morning we had breakfast with Lauren and Miguel. I love this sweet friend so much, and I am thankful we got to spend some time with just them outside of the reunion activities. And it's really fun to see her so happily married :)

 

Saturday night was the reunion, and we had a casual hangout time at Bigz Burger Joint. I graduated with a class of 74, but there were maybe only 20 of us there, plus some spouses. Not a huge turnout, but it was still fun to see people. Mike was a good sport, as I spent the evening introducing him to people from my past and explaining to him who "so and so" was back in high school. We joked about him being my arm candy for the evening, as I got to show off the cute boy I ended up with! :)

 

Catching up with Megan, my roommate freshman year at Baylor. She asked about you Nicki!

 

It's funny how Facebook has changed the nature of reunions; for the most part, I have at least an idea of what my classmates are up to these days. So even people who were not able to make it, still were having conversations on our class group page about where they were, why they couldn't be there, etc. But I really enjoyed seeing people in person, both to catch up and reminisce. Even one of our former teachers/coaches showed up, which was a special treat! Everyone looked exactly the same...which is a good thing? I guess we have aged well {so far!}  :)

 

As is expected, people are rarely in the place they thought they would when we graduated, but it was cool to hear everyone's stories. It's funny how we make our plans and then how God says otherwise. It was a fun evening, and I am glad I went!

 

10 years later!

 

{Flashback Friday} :: High School Senior

Today we're wrapping up our trip down memory lane: high school edition :) 

Senior year rolled around, and I most definitely had senioritis! To say I was ready to move on from high school was an understatement. But there were still a lot of fun memories to be had in my final year. 

I actually didn't play soccer my senior year. There was just a lot going on and it wasn't where the Lord wanted me. I was sad I didn't play that year, and it even took half the season for most people to realize I hadn't even tried out for the team again :)

Senior Servant Day! Students bid on each senior to be their servant for a day. My brother "bought" me and thankfully he was fairly kind to me :)

A weekend at the lake with sweet friends

Our senior banquet

Senior Trip to Estes Park, CO

Feeding the chipmunks...I have always loved furry animals :)

With the valedictorian and salutatorian...so close. But #3 isn't so bad :)

With one of my favorite teachers, Mrs. Biddison. I had 3 classes with him my senior year: Bible, Calculus, and Physics. Such an incredible man of God and educator!

So that was me in high school. I had a pretty good high school experience, though it's not one I would like to repeat. It's such an awkward time, and I just wasn't confident enough in who I was in Jesus yet. If I could go back in time, I would tell high school Erin to stress less, be kinder to my parents, spend more time with Jesus, and hold out for better things beyond high school. I am forever thankful for my Christian education, and I am grateful for all the Lord taught me, as He was already molding me into the woman He wanted me to be.

I'm looking forward to seeing everyone tomorrow and hearing their stories on "life after high school." 



{Flashback Friday} :: High School Junior

Today's flashback: Junior Year :)

 

Another cool tradition at our high school was that we went on a retreat every year. For 3 days, the whole high school would pack into buses, and we would head to a camp site outside of town. It was awesome because we got out of school for those days! It was kind of like going to summer camp, but instead it was a few days during the school year. There were fun activities, group challenges, and a speaker who walked us through daily devotionals. 

On the bus headed to retreat, Junior Year

Junior year was the big year that we spent every available moment working on the spring jr/sr banquet. From the skit and fully interchangeable backdrop to the decorations, music, and catering...we poured so much time and effort into the banquet. We became really close as we spent countless hours working on the details. When each class chose a theme their sophomore year, it was supposed to be kept a secret until the tickets went on sale in the spring of junior year. So there was a lot of covert operations involved! Our chosen theme was "The Yellow Brick Road" and {if I do say so myself} we put on an awesome event!

Painting the yellow brick road on the backdrop

Dorothy and the Scarecrow :) Rachel {Dorothy} is now pursuing her career as an actress, and Julianna {Scarecrow} is a missionary in Africa.

The munchkins! Complete with a dancing Lollipop Guild ;)

Our class really came together and worked hard to make a memorable evening for the seniors. It's when I first fell in love with planning events. I loved every minute of it!

I worked mostly behind the scenes, but had a small role as a student in an opening scene.

Parents were super involved in helping pull off the event, and my mom was no exception!

Pumpkin Carving 2013

We had our second annual Pumpkin Carving party, and this year we had a full house! We had a great time hanging out, carving pumpkins, eating yummy food, and watching "Its the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown."

Birthday in October!

My birthday was in February, and my sweet husband's gift to me was a trip to the zoo! It was too cold to go around my birthday, then life just got super busy {plus we were figuring out medication costs}, and the summer was too hot....and so we found ourselves headed to the Ft. Worth Zoo to finally celebrate in October :)

I really enjoy zoos, and have since I was a kid. My husband, on the other hand, is not as big a fan, but he graciously took me and we had a great day together. We made a Starbucks run before we headed out to Ft. Worth, and then we stopped for lunch at a local neighborhood grill before heading in to the zoo.

When we got there, it must have been nap time for the animals; they were all out and visible for us to see, but they were all taking naps. So I didn't think it was as fun to get too many photos of sleeping animals :)

The gorilla wasn't even napping; he just seemed annoyed with everyone looking at him.

It's hard to see, but this mama came out to show off her baby :)

I could have touched him if I wanted to...

We walked {quickly} through the bird enclosure.

Mike tried talking to this bird, and he puffed up all his feathers and wasn't too sure of Mike.

We got to see them feed the alligator, and he came right up to the glass to show off his teeth.

I was really excited to see the new baby elephants! They were born this summer, and we got to catch a glimpse of them :)

We had a fun time walking around the zoo, seeing all the fun animals God has created. I am thankful for a day to take a break and just enjoy time with my husband. 

{Flashback Friday} :: High School Sophomore

Today we are continuing our trip down memory lane...this week we're highlighting my sophomore year of high school. We moved over to the nice new K-12 campus and were able to enjoy the brand new facilities. Sophomore year I ran for class president and won, which was another fun memory from high school. I loved the organization and planning aspect of being class president, and it also gave me the opportunity to interact with and build relationships with all of my classmates.

Sophomore year was also fun because the girls soccer team won the TAPPS 5A State Championship! We worked really hard that year, and it paid off with a trophy and a state ring :)

I also celebrated my 16th birthday. I was able to invite all of the girls in my class {the benefit of going to a small school!} for a good old fashioned slumber party. It was a fun night full of pajamas, crafts, dancing, and girly fun.

Happy 16th Birthday to me!

Sweet classmates :)

So part of the tradition of spring banquet was that the juniors plan a celebration banquet for the seniors. These are fully themed productions; you start fundraising/planning during your freshman year to pay for 2 things: jr/sr banquet and senior trip.  Also, the 8th graders {soon to be freshmen} are your free labor for the evening, as they are your servers. So my brother was a server for the jr/sr banquet I attended my sophomore year.

Isn't he cute??

Still rocking those bangs...

Oh, and another tradition was that everyone attends graduation, not just the graduating seniors. The other grades are required to be in attendance in full dress uniform. My usual every day uniform was a plaid pleated skirt, button-down collared shirt, and penny loafers. The full dress uniform added a patched sweater, a plaid tie, knee socks {with tassles}, and this fancy beret. It was quite the fashion statement ;)