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!

November Cooking Club

 

{Molly, Me, Lyndsy, Claire, Kate, (Ashley) Baronet, and Kelley}

 Cooking Club always makes me so happy.  

It's an excuse to hang out with lots of girlfriends that I don't always see on a regular basis.  

It's an excuse to try a new recipe.

It's an excuse to fix my hair and find a cute outfit after a long day at work.  

I made Southern Living's Butter Muffins, which only called for three ingredients--my kind of recipe!  Can I just say that I LOVE Southern Living.  So much to look at.  So many ideas.  So Southern.

Kelley and Baronet hosted us at their cozy and beautiful a-p-t for Holiday foods.  We had pork tenderloin, potato casserole, green bean casserole, a yummy appetizer dip and cider and brownies for dessert.  It was such a fun evening!

Next month we're having mug 'n muffin at our new house.  Brunch in our jammers.  Can't wait!

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...

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!