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.  :-)

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!