{iPhone Rewind} :: September

We spent Labor Day weekend with my parents in San Antonio. We learned a new card game called "Golf" and really enjoyed playing several rounds!

Mike packed us dinner and we headed out to the park. We decided to take Sasha with us, and she wasn't too sure about the swans...she seemed interested in them, but was really more concerned with the fact that Mike was feeding chips to them and not her :)

One of my sweet co-workers recently got married and is moving to Ft. Worth. We had a going away lunch for her, which was bittersweet. On our way out of the restaurant, they wanted to snap a photo; this is what happens when the accounting department is on the loose!

My sweet husband told me he had a surprise for me that he had made himself. He went to Michael's, bought supplies, and then made this adorable date night jar :) I love his creativity and how he spent the time to think of date nights for us. I'm excited to see all of the dates he planned!

My boss gets cooler mail than your boss! ;) Seriously, what the heck? It came with assembly instructions and the promise of more pieces to come...haha. I guess it worked because it got my attendtion, for sure.

The sweet lady in our church is still working on that project for work, so we offered to take her kids for the afternoon. It was also her birthday, so the kids spent the day making her a cake and sweet posters/cards!

Kroger had this creamer on display right as you walked in the door...and it was on sale...and I totally bought some...and I'm totally addicted. It tastes like fall {if fall had a taste}  :)

We got to baby-sit our sweet neighbors' little boy. He thinks "Pathtor Mike" is the coolest person ever {and let's be honest, he is}. He had a grand time using Mike's face as a race track for his cars :)

Mike had an opportunity to preach at our McKinney Chick-Fil-A! The owner hosts a quarterly worship service for his employees and asked if Mike would come preach on community. It was fun to be in a Chick-Fil-A on a Sunday! Sadly, there was no chicken, but we did get sweet tea :)

{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 :)

 

Vacation Weekend

I am so excited to have this week off from work; I definitely could use the break! While it will be filled with fun festivities for Laura's wedding, it's nice not to have to be in the office :)

I started my vacation by coming home to my husband in a cow costume, telling me to get changed, we were heading to Chick Fil A for Cow Appreciation Day!

Is free chicken worth the silly costume? Yes. Yes, it is.

And because we're cool, we hit 3 different Chick Fil A's in the area to stock up on chicken for the weekend. Don't judge us.

My brother came to hang out with us for the weekend, which is always fun. Saturday I had breakfast with Laura, which was a sweet time to catch up before the flurry of wedding activities this week. Mike and I each had a few things we needed to work on, but then we took a break and headed out to McKinney Trade Days. It was SUPER hot, but still fun to walk around and see what people had for sale. We got to see all the puppies for sale, which was my personal favorite :)

Saturday evening, we enjoyed dinner at the Olive Garden (courtesy of a gift card from our sweet landlord), then spent the evening playing games and watching a movie. 

Sunday, Mike was preaching at Mercy Church, a fellow Acts 29 church in Frisco. 

We visited them when we first moved to McKinney, when they were still meeting in a movie theatre. Now, they are meeting in a School of Rock building, and it was encouraging to see how they have grown over the last couple of years. It was definitely fuel in our tanks to see a church a couple steps ahead of us. Mike will be preaching there again next Sunday, and our home group will be joining us as well. We are really excited for them to see a growing church plant, so they can have something tangible to envision. 

This weekend was a great start to vacation time, and I am looking forward to all the fun festivities this week! :)

The Post With All the Christmas Festivities

I have to be honest and say that it hasn't really felt much like Christmas these past few weeks. Part of it is because it has been in the 80s for most of the time, and didn't actually get cold until Christmas Eve (but good timing, right?). And part of it has been the whirlwind of events, dealing with my health, and still having to work through most of the time. P.S. working on Christmas Eve should be outlawed. Just saying :)

But despite how different things may have felt this year, we still were able to enjoy LOTS of fun Christmas activities. And I just have to say that I am SO thankful for flexible families. Both sides are wonderful when it comes to scheduling holiday events, and I realize what an incredible blessing that truly is. I was sad to miss out on big family Christmas with my side of the family, as we didn't make it down to San Antonio this year. But I was really excited to have my brother and parents here for a little bit!

On Sunday, we headed over to the McCulloughs for Christmas #1. We were able to spend time with all the kids and exchange gifts.

It was what she had always wanted!

 

It was also fun to have my brother join us for the festivities. He wasn't able to head down to San Antonio either because of work and a roommate move/change, so he camped out at our house for the week. After work on Christmas Eve, we enjoyed a little family game time and Christmas movie watching. We made dinner together, watched the Christmas Eve service at CF, and had a relaxing evening hanging out and enjoying each other's company.

We had a huge thunderstorm roll in overnight, so I spent Christmas Eve curled up next to the Christmas tree and a scared pup. Guess Sasha got a Christmas wish too ;) The fun part of the thunderstorm was that it finally brought colder temperatures. And we actually had a white Christmas!

Christmas day we got to sleep in, and we enjoyed a Christmas breakfast and Skype date with my parents. We then headed over to Bryan & Christa's new house to enjoy an afternoon and dinner with family for Christmas #2.

Elizabeth wanted her daddy to paint Uncle Mike's toenails...pink with purple sparkles. That's a good daddy and a good uncle! ;)

A fun round of Taboo!

I headed back to work on Wednesday while my parents made the trek up from San Antonio. I was able to take the rest of the week off, which was nice to take a break and actually slow down for Christmas. We got to do Christmas with my parents and brother, with a full weekend of fun activities!

The boys were outfitted in camo for their next hunting trip!

Mom with her Starbucks goodies!

Dad shopping at Cabela's for his Christmas present :)

On Friday we headed out for some good old fashioned bowling fun. It's always fun to have a little friendly competition!

We also had my aunt, uncle, and cousins over for dinner and a game night. It was good to spend some time with them and finally have them over to our house! We played a few rounds of 4 on the couch, guys vs. girls- which was a fun end to the day!

The guys emerged the victors!

Saturday we went to see Les Miserables- which my mom and I thoroughly enjoyed, and the boys were kind enough to endure for our sake ;) We spent the rest of the evening playing games and hanging out.

Sunday Mike preached at CF, so it was fun to have my family here to hear him. He spoke from Titus 2 about resolutions, and how as Christians our resolutions should be distinct from the rest of the world. It was such a good reminder of the grace and purpose we live in Christ. His sermon will be available online in a couple of days! :)

We also had an intentional time of prayer for our home group and the future of our church plant. It was such a sweet time to spend in prayer together, and we are so excited for the changes coming in 2013. Don't forget to join us in our Pray nine3eight campaign for the first 100 days of the year!

Sunday evening we wrapped up a fun week of activities with a trip to the Spurs vs. Mavericks game. I had bought tickets for Mike for Christmas, so we were able to enjoy a fun family event ;) Our house is certainly divided when it comes to basketball, but it's so much fun!

A house divided!

Spurs, Mavericks, Lakers :)

It was certainly a FULL week of fun activities! We loved having my parents in town and it was sad to see them go. But it was a fantastic way to wrap up 2012! :)