Our nest :: And why we call it Narnia

I've been more than a little hesitant to post a photo of our house.  Why, you ask?  Well, because the front looked very much like this:

 

In fact, it did look like this up until a few days ago.  Adam and I went on a date night to Macaroni Grill, where we wrote on the table and prioritized all our many projects we'd like to get accomplished around the house.  He was quite surprised that at the top of my list was the yard!  (Good thing we talked about it, right??) 

We've had quite a few friends come to visit, and the question we often receive is, "How do we get to the front door?"  We call it Narnia because it was like a forest you had to get through in order to find it.  I'd been waiting on a little name for our house, and I think that just fits perfectly.  :-)

After FOURTEEN bags of leaves and a pile of brush like this...

We've ended up with this as our final product--just in time to put Christmas lights out front!  We worked together three hours on Sunday afternoon, and then Adam worked yesterday for a couple more, and I went out to help bag even more leaves for about an hour.  So between the two of us, we worked about 10 hours on the yard!  It was fun to do together, and I think too, it helps to have such a visible change for all of our work.  We can now see our front door and step out on our porch and see up and down the street.  We love it!

Life this week

I went to Arizona this week for training at work. I don't really like to travel alone for trips like this. Although we were meeting other March of Dimes staff from all over the country, I tried my darndest to not go alone. And it worked!

I'm so glad my Mom got to come with. me. We arrived Monday afternoon to the resort and walked to little shops and an outdoor lunch. We dined on fish tacos and enjoyed the sunshine.

Then we headed to get a massage, and it was one of the best that either of us had ever had. It was so good, that I fell asleep at the end, and my body didn't hurt for the first time in about three weeks. A.maz.ing.

I sat allll day long from 8-5 Tuesday and Wednesday. At night we would go walk around and eat. Mom had lots of projects to do on her computer, so she worked away while I was busy. It was so nice to come back to the room and have her there!

We did a bit of Christmas shopping at the Scotadale Fashion mall, and I educated mom on the ways of Kona Grill. Yum!

After a half day of the training on Thursday, we headed back home. We had such a good time laughing and talking and hanging out together.

I came home and was welcomed by my sweet husband! He had gotten all the stuff to make steak sandwiches for dinner and was quite excited about it. I, however, had no clue what a steak sandwich was. (I was envisioning the Chick-fil-a chicken sandwich on a bun but with steak instead.) Thank goodness I was wrong!

Behold the steak sandwich, complete with toasted bread, melted provolone cheese, and sautéed green peppers and onions. Delicious. 

I am glad to be home and am looking forward to only a one-day workweek next week! Happy Friday!

Wedding Weekend: Adam's wedding gift to me

I have to an entirely separate post for the wedding gift he built with his own two hands.

One of the (many) things I appreciate about Adam is that he may not be able to completely relate to my love of Baylor, but he does a great job of trying to understand this part of me.  

He wears Baylor shirts.

He takes me to visit Amanda & Joey in Waco & get a tour of campus.

And...he builds me a Baylor bench, with handmade lettering and green and gold paint.  

We walked out of the church after the rehearsal and this was sitting out there.  

So happy!

Love those dimples.

This bench has found a home inside our house, because it just makes me smile to walk by it and see it, and think about all the work that went into it.  I love it for many reasons, mostly the thought Adam put behind it.  But I also like it because it's similar to the green and gold swings that hang around campus, but it has it's own twist.  If you know me well, you know that I don't like to do something just because it's exactly the same.  This has a Shay-and-Adam spin on it, and I love it.

Wedding Weekend: Rehearsal

I finally have a few moments to devote to the blog that's been oh-so-neglected.  I have a zillion photos from Friday's rehearsal and rehearsal dinner.  I'll try to pick the highlights.  I think most people that read this blog are in the pics, so at least a few people will enjoy it!  I had a hard time picking.  :-)

{Sarah and SMoo with the bow bouquet}

David & Norene

 

Sisters

This is one of my favorite parts of our sanctuary.  The baptistry is right in front of it (you can't see it), but I think it's such a great verse from Revelation that applies to new life in Christ and a new life two people build together.  

Some of my girls!

Ms. Teresa was the wedding coordinator, and also my Sunday School teacher when I was little.  It was so neat to have her be a part of this with us.  She's great at (nicely) keeping everyone on task.

Pops came this weekend, and had help from Tammy.  She went everywhere with him and made it possible for him to come visit.  I loved having them there.

Vicki B. from BSB was our pianist.  She was so instrumental (ha!) in coordinating all the music.  She worked with our soloists (Chris & Diane), the strings and brass groups to make everything seamless.  We had A LOT of music, which is one of my favorite parts to remember from our wedding day.  

Troy's girl, Sarah, came down with him for her first wedding...ever.  Pretty amazing!

I love this pic.  Sharon (in red) is my Aunt Jenny's daughter, and that's her husband, Whit.  They are good buds with Papa & Jonita.

Shay Sandwich

I think I'm trying to explain to Adam what the heck is going on.  He looks a little unnerved!

Adam's college pastor came down from Wisconsin.  We loved having Nate & his wife, Amanda, there with us.  

Several of our groomsmen were firemen and had to work that night.  Papa was one of the stand-ins for us.  He and Anna look so cute up there.

The boys are here!

My girls all lined up and ready to walk down the aisle.

Love this pic of me and my Daddy.

House party friends--Katelyn, Lyndsy, Gentry & Natalie

Feather sign-in pens became props.

Love the smile on Adam's face as my dad and I are walking down the aisle

All smiles!

Quiet boys...

We're married!  Just kidding...almost there.

Troy's job included holding the boys for the few minutes they stayed on stage.  He literally held them with a vice-like grip.  They did so well on our wedding day, though...they just had to get their wiggles out.

Here we go!

Papa with his youngest grandkids.

Looking back at all these makes me so happy.  I loved having everyone I loved in one room.  Sheesh.  That's gotta be one of the best things ever.  

Stay tuned for more pics from the weekend...

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: 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!

Our new room



Adam and I have been in total "nesting" moods the past few weeks.  We are cleaning out, cleaning up and clearing out lots of things in his place and mine.  I think this is how we both are processing a big change that's about to occur in our lives in oh...T-minus FOUR DAYS! 

Since I will be moving into Adam's apartment when we get back from our Honeymoon, last night we put all of our new bedding out and hung that big piece of iron on the wall.  {Really, Adam hung it.  I stuffed pillows and fluffed.} 

He was so calm when I said, "Ok, first we have to put on a dustruffle."  He quickly learned what a dustruffle was, and the we put it on.  I was running in and out of his room, into the den, grabbing sheets and pillows and jumping around.  I'm just a little excited to get settled, don't ya think?!  Adam is quite enjoying the fact that he can tell me how comfy the bed is before I can enjoy it, too!

I haven't moved any clothes, and I'd like to add a bedside table and lamp, but I'm just waiting until after we get back.  Who knows what the weather will be like come October, so I will just bring some clothes over then.  Then it's a month of "Camp Paulson," as we're coming to know it, before our leases run out and we get a place that the two of us can put together with each other.  I think Adam's quickly realized that this next phase will involve a lot of "honeydos."  :-)

We have one more day that's just the two of us before family arrives for our wedding weekend.  I was driving home last night thrilled with the idea that those days of 30 minute drives alone in the dark are almost behind me! 

Happy Wedding Week!

Crazy Dreams & a Week in the Life

This week, crazy dreams have started.  I thought I would share a few with you and also just for myself, so I wouldn't forget.  I am just so glad to be sleeping, that I will take any crazy dreams I have and funny things I've been doing...

• I dreamed that our awesome photographer showed up in waaay-too-tight black and white plaid pants, looking really unprofessional (totally not her style!).  When we got to the reception, no tables were set and the band was not there.  Patricia, our hotel wedding coordinator, was there blowing bubbles and singing kid songs to entertain the guests while I set tables. Ca-raz-y.
• I've dreamed that there were tiny little geckos in the kitchen of my and Claire's apartment.  As soon as I'd rescued one, several more would show up.  This has nothing to do with the wedding, but still strange.
• I'm also very slow to get sarcasm these days, I've noticed.  If someone says something that I know is supposed to be funny or sarcastic, I laugh, but it takes me a good five mintues to figure out why it's actually funny.  I eventually figure it out, but I'm hoping that this returns quickly after the wedding!

{Knox shows us his Vampire teeth}

Saturday night, Adam and I babysat our ring bearers, "The Boys."  They bypassed me and went straight to Adam.  I am just the girl who puts their food on the table. ;-)  Adam got hugged by Graham right away, and they were so excited to see him.  They got out their Nerf guns and swords and had a ball.  I wasn't bothered one bit that they like Adam so much.  In fact, I love it! 

Adam has also been working super-hard to make his apartment extra clean since I'm about to move in.  He's deep cleaning the bathroom, putting the lid back on his dryer that's been off for 2 years, and lots of other little stuff.  We are moving a chest of drawers over next week and bringing our new bedding over.  I'm really excited to finally be setting up a few of our new things!!  He's been working so hard and running lots of errands, and I wanted to make sure he knew I appreciated it all.  While he was down playing sand volleyball, I hid little bears around his apartment for him to find...

My family and close friends often call me "Shay Bear."  It's always been my name.  Adam shortened it to "Bear" and it stuck.  It's actually rare that he uses my real name, and it throws me for a loop somtimes when he does.  :-)  So I played off of this and had lots of things that "Bear Says."

We are getting boxes and boxes of gifts each day at my parent's house.  It's unreal.  People are so generous, and it's been lots of fun to open so many boxes and find out what's inside. 

I have no photos of this, either, but last night AMP and I went up to Claire's school for dance practice and her school's game night.  She LOVED showing us her world, and we had a lot of fun watching her interact with her little fourth graders.  I'm so glad we got to go!

We are EIGHT DAYS away from our wedding, and we could not be more excited.  We are a little nervous (the good "butterflies in your tummy" kind) and we have most of the little details ready.  I am taking of next Thursday and Friday and then will be gone for a week after that for our honeymoon.  I'm so ready for vacation!

Weekend Eleven: Couples' Shower

August 20th, we had eight hostesses give a wedding shower for both of us.  It was such fun to have Adam around opening gifts and seeing people, and I loved getting to see tons of my absolute favorite people.  The house was decked out in a picnic theme, with red and white checked table cloths, dasies, sun flowers and photos of Adam and me. 

One of our BSB friends, Vicki, made my favorite chocolate chip cookies.  We used to go on vacation with the Billman family, where she'd let us help make cookies.  We got to eat chocolate chips when we did math problems.  Her son, Brett, is infinitely better at math (he's an accountant now) always did better at these problems, but I beat him in spelling.  Makes sense, now, huh?

I'd like to point out that this was a seated dinner for 70 people.  Yes, 70, and yes, seated.  Everyone had a spot.   Because what's worse than to eat pulled pork sliders and have corn on the cob roll off your lap? 

Delicious food.

Vicki C., Aunt Laura, Sue and Kelley (BSB friends)

These dads preferred to sit in a pow-wow circle instead of at a table.  Whatever floats your boat.

This is where AMP and I sat for approximately 20 minutes to eat.  We enjoyed chatting with our friends at this table, but then it was time to make the rounds to our other 60 friends all around the house.

Papa and Claire became buddies when they were both in the Christmas program at Prestonwood last year.  I love this fun fact very much.

Molly and Nathan came and knew just about everyone in the house.  They are just so Baylor-y.

Megan and I are becoming good friends because she knew Amanda in Waco (who came up to visit for this!) and Molly worked for Amanda as an intern in Waco in college.  Did you catch all those connections?  If not, that's ok.  Just know we're mutual friends.

There was much laughing and mingling.

Tom and Susan opened their home up for this party, and he gave a little welcome and blessing for us.  The eight hostesses went to great lengths to make this such a special evening.  They had lots of special touches, and handed out these pretty prayer cards to people as they left, with specific verses to pray for us. 

This is when they were talking about us, before we started opening presents.  I have no idea why we were laughing, but there was a lot of that going on that night.

Smoo was there with her iPad taking notes as we opened presents for an hour and a half.

Handmade aprons for each of us!

Adam was so excited about all the tools he got!  His reactions were priceless, and I'm fairly certain he entertained the whole room.

The card for this read, "Every fireman's house should have an ax."  He couldn't agree more.

SMoo just working away!

Baylor friends!!

Troy was still in town, so he came too.  I'm so glad!

All of our loot.

Sweet hostesses.

So excited about their Crate & Barrel boxes

Here I am laughing, and Adam rolling his eyes. 

After everyone left, Adam went and pulled out some of his new tools. 

Mom was checking them out, too.

It was such a fun night!  We got in the car, exhausted, and realized that's what we're going to feel like after our wedding, but even more tired.  I did dream the other night, though, that we didn't get to dance or eat at our wedding because we were talking to people the whole time.  Hopefully that won't happen!

My first shower was really fun, but I really enjoyed having Adam there to open gifts, too, and really experience how excited everyone is for us.  We both felt very loved, and had a great time.