Halloween :: Blast from the Past

Happy Halloween! My family is beginning to comment on my lack of blogging.

I think I have some pretty good excuses: we've gotten married, combined 2 households, packed and moved (hooray!), and I am planning an event for 800 people at work this week. To say Things are a bit busy is an understatement!

All great things, just a lot of stress all at once. Adam and I are really glad to be in one spot. And we had a ton of help moving and unpacking this weekend with family and friends. Our home is already very homey thanks to mom and dad, Laura, Amanda and Papa. Not to mention the firefighters that helped us move everything!

I will leave you with some photos of Halloween past that I got texted to me today. Love the big hair-do days. Don't you??

Dear Self

Dear Self,

If you'd been asked what your first month of marriage might look like, I don't think you could have answered correctly.  

I mean, you knew Adam would be sweet.  But did you know that he would pack your lunches and drop your work you left at home on your desk saying, "These looked important--thought you might need them."  I don't think so.  Did you know that you would go to bed laughing and wake up laughing together, too?  Did you know he would set up all your utilities and grocery shop when you didn't have time to go together and just take extra-good care of you while you're super busy?

You might have guessed that the month would fly by with boxes being packed, but did you think that you'd not have to buy a single one?  It's the little things that make a big difference!  Did you know that your mom would come over and pack and pack and pack, and your dad would bring both of you lunch and you'd all hang together out and watch the Baylor game?  I don't think so.  And then could you have guessed that mom and Adam would come back over and keep packing and taking things off the walls and doing little things that were so helpful, you just didn't know where to begin?

Did you know how hilarious it would be to keep the boys with Adam?  You might have guessed it, but nothing could've prepared you for the laughs and the lessons you both learned that night at the ball park. I'm sure you could've guessed what happens when Knox eats a huge scoop of beans at Dickey's BBQ...but you couldn't have known it would go through his little body so quickly and make such a loud noise for such a small person.  (The kid can toot...)

Did you know that you'd be getting to do so many cool things at work and smiling about your job all. the. time?  I don't think so.  Even though your first big event to plan there is coming up, I don't think you could've forseen your experiences filming a segment at Channel 5 or getting your photo taken with the Mavs' NBA Championship trophy.

And I don't think you would've guessed that your mom would show up at your doorstep with a tiny little ball of fur named Bella.  She has become your new little buddy, and even came to work with you one day when you dog sat for her.

And after nearly a year of growing out your hair, would you have guessed you, too, would go with the "post wedding chop" like so many brides do?  You surprise yourself sometimes.

It's been a great (almost) month so far, and it's flown by.  Who knows what adventures you'll have next!

Wedding weekend: Bridesmaid Luncheon

On Friday, wedding festivities really kicked into high gear!  We headed over to my Aunt Laura's house for the Bridesmaid luncheon she and Jonita hosted.  There were peacock decorations, delicious food from Macklin's Catering, and petit fours with our monogram on them.  

Hostesses, Laura an Jonita

I love my Auntie.

Sarah came in town from Georgia and Claire took the day off from teaching.  Almost everyone there had to rearrange their schedule to be there.  It meant so much to me, and I so enjoyed sitting around and chatting with them.  This was definitely one of my favorite parts of the Wedding weekend!

Gentry, SMoo, Mary Ellen, Anna, Claire, Sarah, 

Katie, me and Amanda

Go Team Wedding!  The three of us really worked as a team to pull this off.  It would not have been the same without them!

I love my Mama!

My camera died about half way through the party, so the rest of my photos are on Amanda's camera.  I'll add more to this post when I get those.  :-)  I stole this last one off her blog...

Each person in my wedding party got an apron that I'd picked out.  I tried to pick ones I thought would go with their personality.  Claire and Sarah both got ruffles, Anna got a sunny yellow Anthropologie looking one, etc.  It was fun to hand them out and share the first memory I had of them and another memory that has stuck with me and meant a lot.  It was a special time to honor these incredibly sweet friends in my life.  I would not be who I am today without them, and I am continually humbled by their love and support.  I truly believe I have the dearest friends a girl could ask for!

Wedding weekend: Ordinary things

Wedding weekend started when work ended on Wednesday.  We signed our lease Thursday and I got my car inspected.  I loved this day, because we got to do ordinary things.

Adam and I got to go to the grocery store in the middle of the day together, and I wanted to tell everyone we saw in every aisle that we were getting married in two days!  I was pretty much dancing around Albertsons.  :-)

This excited look is pretty much how I looked all weekend, I think!  This was after we'd written some big fat checks and signed our names 25 times each, on three different documents.  That's a lot of signing!  I will post a photo of the house when we have some good "before" and "after" photos of the front.  It needs some major yard work, but we are so excited and thankful to be moving into a great little house!

Thursday afternoon I went up to help my mom, aunt and our friend Kathy decorate the stage up at church.  This is Kathy standing in front of the baptistry trying to make the lanterns work.  It was a fun afternoon!

That night, Adam ate with his mom, dad and brother who'd just gotten in town, and I ate with my parents and my dad's dad, Pops.  It had been three or four years since I'd seen him, and although he is much more frail, he is just precious.  

Pops' favorite thing is Blue Bell ice cream, which he can't get in Virginia.  Laura and Anna dropped some off for us about the same time Adam and his parents came over to see all of our gifts.  It was a great way to end the day--with my old and new family all in one room!

Back in the Groove

Hi!  We're baaaaaack!

We spent last week in Maui having a lot of fun exploring the island.  There were numerous beaches to walk, waves to catch and sunsets to see.  We ate some really great food, laughed a lot and enjoyed our week of uninterrupted time together (although, I think we both have to admit that it's a great thing, it will take some getting used to!).

One of my old bosses gave us a card at the reception letting us know that they were buying us dinner one night at their favorite restaurant in Maui.  I just texted her to let her know what night would work best, and she made the reservations on the outdoor patio so we would be sure to catch this beautiful sunset.  It was a very thoughtful and practical gift, and we enjoyed it immensely!

We arrived back in Dallas one week later and spent Sunday afternoon at my parents opening 35 more gifts.  It took us almost two hours to open everything.  We grabbed a few items to put in Adam's (our) apartment for the next three weeks before we move into our rent house. 

Praise the Lord we know where we're living next!  This was a huge weight off my shoulders to have a contract signed on Thursday before our wedding.  (Yes, two days before our wedding, we got my car inspected and signed a rental contract--talk about being a practical grown up!)

My mom was so right when she told me I wouldn't want to go back to work on Monday.  I'm so glad I took her advice and didn't go back yesterday.  We spent it doing laundry, Mom and I got to catch up at lunch, then she came to visit Camp Paulson, and we took her over to peek through the windows at the rental. It was so fun to just relax and do normal things! 

Last night after trying out our new waffle maker, we made a trip to Home Depot, TC's Shaved Ice and made a big haul at the grocery store.  We have three meals planned this week and food for it in the fridge.  This makes my little try-to-be-organized heart happy.  :-) 

I have many posts from the wedding festivities to catch up on.  I keep replaying the wedding and reception in my mind, and Adam and I continue to talk about how much fun we had.  I am beginning to dig out from vacation mode and am slowly but surely returning phone calls from friends and hearing what all I missed this last week. 

Amanda has recapped the weekend from her sweet point of view on her blog here. 

Our photographer, Jess Graham Barfield has given us a teaser of the fabulous photos that are to come on her blog here.

I think Adam and I have already learned a lot about each other in the last 10 days--quirks we didn't know we had and funny things we say.  So far, it's been great.  We are learning to laugh a lot and we are already shocked at the amount of free time we have since we don't have to go home at night!  I'm sure we will fill up that time soon enough, so for now we are enjoying learning about married life together.  :-)