Michelle & Jeff

Dallas Baby Shower

2011-05-07T14:17:00.001-07:00

I had my baby shower in Dallas last month, and it was so much fun!

It was thrown by my Mom, my Sister, and my Mom's precious friends. They made me feel so special and did such a great job! Everything was just too cute!

My sister, Me & My Mom

This was one of the vases and the crystals we used at my wedding!

My sweet hostesses!

I was supposed to take care of this baby doll - I was terrible at it, i kept putting it down and forgetting...hopefully not a sign of things to come...haha!

My friend Candice made me this basket. Isn't it adorable?

Kelly made this beautiful cake! It tasted just as amazing as it looked!

Yes, I cried a little. Okay, I cried twice. First was when my Sister gave me this. She made it! Isn't she talented? I had it professionally framed and it is now hanging in Jaxson's room. I know he will treasure it just as much as I do.

My other crying was over my Daddy - he sent a gift to the shower, a cute book that he wrote in for Jaxson. I thought that was just the sweetest thing!

Me, Candice and Leigh. We have known each other for 11+ years, and are all expanding our families right now! Candice is getting her sweet baby this summer, and Leigh is just 5 weeks behind me with her little girl!

Me & My Sister

Me & My Mom when I was a baby.

My Sister in her apron gift.

My Mom make these favor boxes, they had cutie "It's a Boy!" dinner mints inside. She is so talented and worked so hard on everything.

Thank you to all of my hostesses from the bottom of my heart! This was a very special day that I will always treasure!

Baby Shower!

2011-03-17T19:59:00.003-07:00

My sweet friends threw me the most beautiful baby shower I have ever been to! They are so precious and special to me, and I can't thank them enough! Here are some pictures from the wonderful day!

This cake tasted as wonderful as it looked!

Yummy sugar cookies

Aren't these favors adorable!? I so loved all the little details, like the stationary - it all matched our bedding!

This is the first thing I got with his initials on it!

Lenti & My Sister

Erin, Jill & Kristin. The shower was at Erin's townhouse - it is the cutest place!

Brittany and Jenn

Brandy, Erin, Sarah & Lenti. Brandy flew all the way from Arizona - such a sweet friend!

Me, Kim & Jill

Val & My Momma

Me & My Sister In Law

The smallest shorts I have EVER seen!

My adorable sister painted these onsies for her nephew. They are treasures! I can't wait for him to wear them!

I LOVE alligators! They are our sorority mascot :) Since I can't have a little AXO, I'll get our sweet little boy lots of alligator things - haha!

Jenn got me these stickers - they are SO cutie! There is one for each month, and you can put them on his little clothes for his monthly pictures. I LOVE them!

Kristin & Me

My beautiful hostesses in their gifts. I am so lucky to have such wonderful, talented, sweet friends. I can't thank you all enough for such an amazing shower and a day that I will never forget! Love you girls!

Kelly & Me. Kelly took all of these pictures, and a few hundred more. She is so talented and I am so thankful to have all these pictures as wonderful memories of the day. Thank you Kelly!

Baby Jaxson's First Photo Shoot

2011-02-19T18:50:00.001-08:00

We went to Dallas last weekend to visit my darling parents and sister. What an amazing weekend! I just love being home. It feels so weird that I will only be home a few times before our little boy arrives. Trips to Dallas will never be the same!

My Daddy was so sweet, he made us wonderful meals while we were there! We had ribs, Bandit Chili, and a Steak and Lobster dinner. My mom and sister and I got to have a wonderful girls day! We shopped at Harry and David, went to a cutie yogurt bar, and headed to Babies R Us to finish Jaxson's registry. It was wonderful. I didn't want to come home!

On Saturday, baby Jaxson had his first photo shoot! We had a 3/4D ultrasound done. It was amazing! Here are a few of my favorite pics from the appointment.

I adore him : )

The nurse said he was overly active. I know - he is moving all the time!!! We might have our hands full when our little ninja arrives.

It's A Boy!

2010-12-29T15:24:00.000-08:00

We finally had our Gender Reveal Party this weekend!! We have been looking forward to it for weeks!

Here's the scoop. We went to the doctor for our 16 week sonogram and had them write the sex of the baby in a card. We didn't peek :) Then, we took the card to the bakery and had them make cupcakes filled with pink or blue filling. We invited our friends and family over so that we could all find out together! Here are some of the pics from the day.

Hubby and I made that cupcake stand - how cute is that??

This is the first time I got to use my china serving dish! I was so excited!

Ooh La La in Katy made the best cupcakes I have ever had. They are huge, but amazing.

They sat at our house for a full 24 hours before the party. I wanted to peek inside one so badly!

The spread. The tree is one of our placecard trees from our wedding. My Mom made it, which makes it so special.

Me and my Sister, Val

My Mom brought these and put them in one of our wedding vases. Aren't they beautiful?

My Pappa and his Sisters. It meant so much to me that they came!

My precious sister

My sister and Me, before I was dressed and ready to go!

Here we are...cutting into the cupcake!

And....

IT'S

BOY!!!

And we couldn't be happier. My Daddy thanked me twice for his Grandson, Hubby teared up, and my Pappa was so excited!!

Jill & Billy's Wedding

2010-12-28T08:51:00.000-08:00

Well, Mango (what my sweet friend Kelly nicknamed the baby) and I just returned from Mexico!

We went for my dear friend Jill's wedding. I just adore Jill. We joined the same sorority, and they made us wear our bid day shirts to the first day of classes so that we could find our new sisters throughout the day and start to make new friends. Jill and I were both psychology majors, and had apparently signed up for the same freshman block of classes, because at the end of our first day, she came up to me and said, "Hi, I'm Jill. We are both AXOs and have all the same classes, so we are going to be friends". I agreed, and that was that. We lived together and went through all our important college experiences together. Our boyfriends even lived together at one point - ha! That was 10 years ago! Needless to say, her friendship and the memories that I have with her are invaluable to me.

Being pregnant in Mexico was interesting...no cocktails (of course), and no dairy, including cheese! Going to Mexico and not eating cheese, well, just doesn't seem right - haha! Very limited seafood intake, and not as much energy = hungry & sleepy. I owe my friends a huge thank you for being so sweet and understanding - I am very blessed to have friends like you!

Her wedding was beautiful! I don't know that I have ever seen such a beautiful, happy bride! This was my first destination wedding to attend, and I loved it! It was like a fun private party with the bride and groom's families and all of our closest friends. So fun! Here are a few pics from the weekend....

Fun at the pool

Jill's Shower

A few of my favorite friends!

Beach Day!

Paradise

The perfect setting for wedding vows

Me & Lenti

My favorite friend and me!

Bran & Rickey

The happy, beautiful Mrs. Berg! Isn't she radiant!?

Jill, I love you so much and I couldn't be happier for you! Thank you so much for including me in your wedding celebration!

I must add that hubby did the laundry, the yard, and cleaned the entire house while I was gone. I don't know if I have ever been so grateful for anything he has done for me! There are no words to describe how nice it was to come home to a clean house with no laundry to do!

Baby!!

2010-11-10T10:23:00.001-08:00

We are welcoming our first child into this world!!

I am 14 weeks along, and our due date is May 7th. Everything has been great so far, it's been so hard not to tell everyone about it! Here are just a few of the highlights -

* We told my parents by wrapping up the frame in this picture and giving it to my Daddy with his birthday gifts. It was a very special moment that I hope I never, ever forget.

* I've felt great! No morning sickness at all.

* I am so very sleepy, all I want to do is sleep...and eat.

* Hubby is convinced that the baby is a boy, so we refer to it as him, and he. I think he will be very disenchanted if it's a girl! I'm a little worried...

* I'm so thirsty. All I want is water all the time. Which means I potty, all the time.

* I'm overly emotional. Really overly emotional. I cry at least twice a day, doesn't matter if I'm happy, sad, or just tired.

Battle of The Piney Woods

2010-11-09T06:25:00.000-08:00

We started a new tradition with our friends this year - tailgating at the Sam Houston vs. SFA game at Reliant! We had so much fun! Jeff and his buddys went to Sam Houston, and made the wise decision to marry Aggie girls :) haha! Even though Sam Houston lost, we really enjoyed our day!

Me & Jeff

The Smith Family

The boys decided they wanted to play like they were still in college and shotgun a couple of beers before we went into the game. They were too funny!

Some things never change :)

We had great seats!

I think it's a sign you are getting older when you think the college cheerleaders look like they are tiny and about 13 years old...they were so itty bitty and adorable!

This is where Jeff set up camp after the game.

And then he danced...

and danced some more...

We are now the proud owners of this cone. And its twin. Jeff decided we needed them. See that beer in Josh's hand? This is seconds before it was poured down the cone...haha!

What a day!

Congrats Erin & Rickey!!!

2010-09-27T18:03:00.001-07:00

We had the most amazing weekend celebrating our friends' wedding! Erin is one of my pledge sisters, and by far, the sweetest girl I have ever met. It was a wonderful weekend full of fun, great friends, and lots of love!

The weekend started off with their rehearsal dinner at the Hobbit Cafe - it was a fun relaxed night with friends.

Hubby and me

Me and Brandy, my favorite friend from Arizona

Bran & Hubby

Erin and Rickey's Reception was at The Museum of Natural History, in the Dinosaur room! It was so unique and beautiful!

Jill & Me

Aren't the dresses Erin chose beautiful? I LOVE the color!

Me & Kelly on the Trolley. It was our transportation to and from the ceremony. Too cute!

The table arrangements - L-O-V-E!

I loved their cakes - so classy and unique - just like Erin & Rickey!

I made hubby pose by the dino bones ; )

The beautiful bride

The dance floor was packed all night. Can you tell we were having fun??

Rickey meant serious business!

Husband and Wife

After the wedding, we all headed over to Hotel ZaZa for a little post wedding celebration.

Silly boys

Mrs. Williams & Me

Me & Hubby

Me & Mel

The last pic of the night.

Erin & Rickey, we can't thank you enough for including us in your special day! We were honored to be a part of it and we love you!

Jeff's 30th Birthday!

2010-08-04T11:54:00.000-07:00

To celebrate Jeff's big 3-0, we headed to Vegas with some dear friends!

Our trip started out bright and early, with Kenny and Heidi picking us up a 4:45AM for our flight. After a quick breakfast taco at the airport, we were on our way!

Our Southwest flight attendants were amazing! They gave us free drinks on our flight and made Jeff this cutie crown, which bought us a cut in line to get off the plane - ha!

Kenny and Heidi surprised Jeff with a driver to our hotel. He was so excited and surprised! I made him this magnet so everyone would know it was his birthday!

We stayed at the Monte Carlo, my most favorite hotel in Vegas. It's really nice, great location, great rates, and the dealers are the best!

We checked our bags, and I taught the girls how to play craps for a little while before we checked into our rooms. We all won!

Lindsey and Greg surprised Jeff by renting a cabana at the pool. It was AMAZING! It had comfy chairs, a really sweet waitress, and misters - which we really appreciated considering the fact that it was 104 degrees outside. (Check out my cutie sign I made - haha!)

Too many drinks at the pool later, and we all headed up to get ready.

We had dinner at TAO that night - Jeff's restaurant of choice in Vegas. We had an incredible dinner with great wine and even better friends.

Heidi, Me & Lindsey

Lindsey & Greg - on their 6 month anniversary!

Hubby's Birthday Dessert

After that we headed to the hotel lobby bar to watch my fave - their house 80's band!

After that we went back to Tao, but Jeff didn't love the crowds, so we headed back to the hotel to gamble - which was fine with me!

The next day we spent the morning at O'Shea's playing craps. So fun! Then we headed to Margaritaville for some cheeseburgers in paradise...yummy!

We wondered around for the rest of the day, and then got ready for dinner at Brand Steakhouse at the Monte Carlo.

Me & Lindsey at the Bellagio

We found icing shots!!! How fun is that???

Dinner was incredible! See this rock? It was really hot, and you cooked steak on it. It was too fun!

After dinner we headed to Rain at The Palms to see Jazzy Jeff. Remember him from the Fresh Prince? haha! We had SO MUCH FUN!

Hubby & Greg

Me & Hubby

The girls

Greg & Lindsey

Me & Lindsey

Jazzy Jeff!

Me & Heidi

I LOVE when Jeff as this BIG grin. I just think he is adorable when he smiles like this :)

We were having SO much fun!

Don't ask...because I have no idea...

It was a weekend we will never forget! Happy Birthday Darling!!!!

Mother's Day Weekend

2010-06-11T18:41:00.000-07:00

We had such a wonderful Mother's Day in Dallas celebrating my wonderful Momma! We started the weekend off with brunch at the Grand Lux. I adore that place!

My parent's neighborhood has ducks! This sweet little pair wanders around the neighborhood and enjoys swimming in peoples pools and dog food. How cute are they?

My Daddy, otherwise know as the best chef ever : ), made us this for dinner. Steaks with asparagus, crab meat and amazing seasoned potatos. YUMMY.

My mom made this rehearsal bouquet for my sister in law, with her bows and flowers from her shower gifts. I think it is the prettiest rehearsal bouquet I have ever seen!

And, we made these wine glasses. See the pretty details on the bottom? More on these later :)

Happy Mother's Day Mom, I love you!

Crawfish!

2010-05-24T07:32:00.000-07:00

So, I don't eat crawfish, but I love everything that goes along with them. A patio, good friends, great music and cold beer! This year's crawfish boil at Houston National was no exception!

We had a wonderful time and it was the perfect way to spend part of our anniversary weekend!

The Smith's

Sarah & Tom

This was Tom's first Crawfish Boil - and he did great! He's from New York, so we are breaking him in! ha!

Josh & Kim

Our First Anniversary!

2010-05-24T07:20:00.000-07:00

Jeff and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary! He was adorable, he wanted to make all the plans himself and kept them all a surprise!

On Saturday, we drove downtown to the hotel ZaZa! After being greeted with a glass of champagne, we relaxed in our gorgous room and then headed to the spa for a wonderful hour long couple's massage. Heaven!

I got Jeff a cookie cake, like the one I surprised him with on our wedding day :) He loved it!

The next surprise was dinner at Shula's Steakhouse. Amazing! We had bacon wrapped BBQ shrimp, crab cakes, filets and lobster. The restraunt was almost empty, so it was so nice and quiet - and the service was incredible!

Jeff planned the perfect anniversary, I felt as special as I did on our wedding day!

I am a very, very lucky girl!

Poor Bandit!

2010-04-20T11:15:00.000-07:00

Our poor little Bandit has hot spots! He is so miserable, and Jeff and I feel so terrible for the little guy! I guess this is part of being doggie parents!

We have 11 more days of the cone...oh goodness! Wish us luck!

Our First Married Easter!

2010-04-19T16:40:00.000-07:00

Jeff and I had a perfect first Easter together. We headed to POC to see Daddy and Pappa!

Our first married Easter picture!

The First Baptist Church of Port O Connor's Choir. They are truly amazing!

Every Easter Sunday, both of the Baptist churches get together a hold a sunrise service on the beach. It is always so beautiful and peaceful. What a wonderful way to start Easter Sunday!

My Daddy took Jeff, Bandit and Me out on the boat. One of my favorite things in life is a boat ride. It's so relaxing and pretty.

Bandit did great in the boat! He enjoyed all the smells and birds.

We spent a couple of hours at Sunday beach. As you can see, Bandit really enjoyed himself. He ate seashells, tried to get hermit crabs, swam, and made lots of doggie friends!

Bandit, Daddy & Me

What a perfect Easter!

Heartlight Dinner

2010-04-13T14:37:00.000-07:00

Jeff and I were so fortunate to attend the Heartlight dinner this year. If you are not familiar with Heartlight, it is a Ministry for struggling teens. It's a amazing place that is very dear to our hearts. If you are looking for a worthy cause to donate to, I can vouch that your money will go to great use! http://www.hearlightministries.org/ We had a wonderful time with my family - such a great evening and event! Here are some pictures from that night.

Our family. We.Are.So.Blessed.

Thanks Mom and Daddy for having us this weekend! We love you!

And the reason we went to Dallas in the first place? So Jeff could get this - his hobby car! He is beyond excited and I must admit, it's contagious! Isn't she cute?

HLSR - Eli Young Band

2010-03-21T15:15:00.000-07:00

Friday night was our last night at the Rodeo :( I'm going to miss it! We had a great group of friends, good music, great rodeo action...what else could we ask for?
The boys

Brandon, Britney, and Baby Cayden.

We had such a great time! Until next year...

Weekend Recap - Parent's, Toby Keith and Baby Shower, Oh My!

2010-03-15T20:06:00.000-07:00

We had a fun, jam packed weekend!

My parents came in town, which is one of my favorite things in the world! I just love having them at our house. And, I haven't seen them since Christmas, so it had been way too long!

We took them to the Rodeo to see Toby Keith. My Daddy met Toby in Park City a few years ago, and just thought he was the greatest guy. So, we knew they would enjoy seeing him. Due to a turned over tanker truck on 610 - it took us 2 hours to get there - aaaahhh! But, we got lots of catching up done on the way down there. They enjoyed the Rodeo, but I don't think they will be itching to come back next year. I didn't take any pictures because my camera was "missing in action" ie. had fallen under the seat in my car, oops.

Saturday night, we cooked steaks that Daddy brought - and they were amazing! We had such a great time with them and I am so happy that they came to see us!

Saturday we went to Britney and Brandon's baby shower. I must say, it was the most enjoyable baby shower I have ever been to! We can't wait for baby Cayden to get here!

Jeff and Brandon - Daddy to be!

Britney, Mom to be and me

The boys participated in a beer chugging contest - from bottles!

How adorable is this set up! Brandon's Mom did such a great job!

The proud parents

Dierks Bently & Jude's First Birthday!

2010-03-07T18:48:00.001-08:00

We had such a great week! Here we are at the Rodeo, to see Dierks Bently. Dierks is so special to us. His song, Long Trip Alone, is our song. We heard it two years ago at the rodeo, and we feel in love with it immediately. Of course, he didn't play it, but that's okay. Jeff played it in the car on the way home for me. That's almost as good : )

I don't know why, but I seriously LOVE the rodeo. I mean, really love it. We are going 4 times this year, and I wish we could go more. I am not sure why I love it so much...maybe it's getting to buy a new outfit each year? Getting to wear my bronze Jessica Simpson boots? Cheering for those cowboys? Maybe it's the nachos and the carnival...or the fried bacon? Yes, we tried it this year. It is amazingness. Seriously. Like a candy bar...yyuuummm....
Here are my two favorite parts of the actual Rodeo -
The calf scramble is so fun to watch. It always makes us laugh, and I inadventenly find myself rooting for the girls. Hey - those calfs are big! I love watching the kids come together and help out their classmates at the end, that encompasses the spirit of the Rodeo for me!
What makes Mom and Dad decide to put their 5 or 6 year old child on a "mutton" I think this is some type of sheep, is beyond me. But, I'm pretty sure that here in Houston, there is quite possibly some type of waiting list for this activity. ha! Regardless, Jeff and I usually laugh so hard that we have tears rolling down our cheeks watching the mutton bustin'.
I heart Dierks Bently.
On Saturday, we headed to Austin to celebrate Jude's First Birthday! Jude is the son of my best and oldest friend, Leigh. He is also my Godson! How lucky am I? Just on look at this cute little smile...and he steals your heart!
This was his first sweet. EVER. Leigh is super mom. She makes all his food and only feeds him the best, most natural stuff. He REALLY liked the icing. I'm pretty sure poor Leigh will be finding it for days!

Rodeo Cook Off

2010-02-28T15:15:00.000-08:00

Jeff and I had a great time at Rodeo Cook Off this weekend. Our neighbor's had a team - Half Fast Cookers. They put on a great event! Good friends, good food, good music - what more could you want?
Jeff, Terrence & Greg

Cowboy Jeff. We really need to get him some rodeo gear...

The girls

10 Months Ago...

2010-02-25T14:50:00.000-08:00

I was getting ready for our wedding day! I cannot believe that we have already been married 10 months - it has gone by so quickly! We have almost made it through our first year!

Valentine's Day

2010-02-21T15:29:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful 1st married Valentine's Day! Jeff ordered me these beautiful flowers - in the same colors as our wedding flowers. What a thoughtful gift! I'm a very lucky girl. He also gave me a spa day - aaahhh...clam and relaxing!
I got Jeff this name frame, and I finally changed my last name. I'm offically Michelle Adams Ellis now.

We went to Big Texas on Friday night with some of our friends. We had such a great time!

We hope you had a wonderful Valentine's Day!

Jenny's Bridal Shower

2010-02-01T17:19:00.000-08:00

My sister in law, Jenny, had her first bridal shower last Saturday! It was a beautiful shower hosted by dear friends of the grooms mother. The decorated in her wedding colors, black and red. It was a fun day!

This trail mix is so good!

The bride to be with her hostesses

Jenny and her bridesmaids.

Jackie, Jenny and me.

My mother in law, sister in law, and myself.

Congrats Jenny!

Lindsey & Greg's Wedding

2010-01-31T18:35:00.000-08:00

Jeff and I had an amazing time at Lindsey and Greg's wedding. Jeff and Greg were fraternity brothers in college, and have remained friends through the years. Greg met Lindsey about a year and a half ago, and it's hard to remember him without her. We are so thankful that he found such a sweet, fun wonderful wife. Here are a few pics from their big day.

Lindsey and Josh breaking it down to Footloose
Me and Terrence

Josh and Jeff at the afterparty

Lindsey and her adorable neice, Claire.

Britney, Brandon, and their future son :)

Jeff and Greg

Josh and Kelly

Melissa & Chang

Lindsey dancing with her Daddy

The Sheffler family (+Jeff)

Jeff & Me

Congrats Mr. & Mrs. Smith!!!

Our welcome bag - isn't it cute??

By far, one of our favorite weddings : ) Thanks Mr. & Mrs. Smith!

Beautiful Award!

2010-01-19T18:29:00.000-08:00

I was so happy today when I read Emily's blog and saw that she gave me the "Beautiful Blogger" award! Thank you!!! She and I planned our weddings around the same time on The Knot, and I really enjoy keeping up with her life by reading her blog, Just the two of us...and a cat.

The rules are as follows -

1. Thank the person that gave you the award

2. Paste the award on your blog

3. Link back to the person that gave you the award

4. Share 7 interesting things about yourself

5. Nominate up to 7 more beautiful bloggers

6. Link to the bloggers you nominate

I'm not incredibly interesting...but here are my 7 things...

1. I have a 25 pound Pomeranian. The vet calls him "abnormally large". All I wanted when I was in college was a dog I could carry around in a bag. Bandit was tiny enough to fit into my hands when he was a puppy - and he just kept growing and growing! 6 years later though, I can't imagine him any other way!

2. I really want to be crafty. Really, I do. My Mom is incredibly crafty and creative, but I just didn't seem to get those genes. I'm working on it though : )

3. I've a newlywed! We have been married for 9 months, and it has been the most fun, rewarding and interesting challenge ever!

4. One of my favorite things to do is enjoy a great glass of wine. There is nothing like unwinding at the end of the day with a glass of vino. And, I swear it tastes better out of a fancy glass...and with some fancy cheese....mmmm.....

5. Inspired by the ladies on The Nest, I have a list, 30 Things to do before 30. I only have about a year and a half left, and I still have, um, about 30 things left to do...

6. I HATE working out. I don't know many people that truly enjoy working out, but I do not care for it at all. I hate getting all hot and sweaty, and then my face turns red, my whole body hurts, and it is pretty much miserable. But, I do it because I hate not feeling good about myself more.

7. Since I've been married, I'm becoming a bit of a neat freak. Jeff is a little OCD when it comes to cleaning and keeping things picked up, and I'm afraid I'm picking up the habit. Any of you that knew me before I married Jeff know that I am pretty much the messiest person in the world...well, maybe not as messy as my friend Lenti :) So, I guess marriage has changed me for the better!

Thanks again Emily!

Now I would like to nominate the following Beautiful Bloggers:

Highs, Lows & Stilettos

Happy New Year!

2010-01-09T08:49:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! We had a wonderful New Year's weekend. Jeff and I decided to stay home this year. We played dominos, watched the ball drop on TV and shot off fireworks. It was a great first married New Years. We had Jeff's parents over on New Year's Day for the traditional serving of ham, black eyed peas and cabbage...yummy!

My sparkler! I didn't get to light all of these, beacause Bandit wanted to bite them!

Bandit fell asleep waiting for the New Year!

This could be trouble...

This was the first time that I remember ever going to a fireworks stand. It was fun - check out all the great things we picked out!

We hope you had a wonderful NYE and best wishes for a great year!!!

Our year in pictures

2010-01-01T20:24:00.000-08:00

What an amazing year we have had. We are so blessed - God has truly watched over us this year and given us so many blessings! We are so greatful! He is a picture summary of our year - hope you enjoy!

Jeff & Michelle Ellis - Est. April 25, 2009

Our dearest friends, our wedding party.

Dancing with my Daddy

Our honeymoon. We spent a week at the Sandals Royal Bahamian. It was the most wonderful week of our lives!

Our dear friends, Kristi and Talton welcomed their first child, Connor. We are so hapy for them!

We celebrated Lindsey and Greg's upcoming wedding at their couple's shower. Their wedding is in one week!

My Birthday brunch with my favorite girls!

My parents had my wedding florist design these flowers for my birthday.

We had a great time at Zieg Fest!

Go Texans! This was Jeff's first Texans Game!

We put these pumpkins up for Halloween!

Lindsey's Bridal Shower. She will be Mrs. Smith this time next week!

Our dear friends Kenny and Heidi are going to welcome Kenneth into their family any day now! We are so very excited for them and we can't wait to meet him!

Our first marriage prayer.

We went the Third Eye Blind at the Verizon Wireless theater. That was our first time at that venue, and we loved it!

I got Jeff Monday Night Football tickets for his birthday - SO FUN!

Our first married Christmas picture

My parents :)

The girls took me to Vegas for a long weekend for my Bachelorette party. Best.Weekend.Ever.

I met Whitney from the hills....haha!

Bridals

Britney celebrated her bachelorette party at the river. What a fun weekend that was! The boys went to Shereveport...Jeff didn't come home with any pictures of that...haha!

My sister, Valerie, graduated from UNT and got a job teaching at a community college! I am SO PROUD of her!!

I loved our tree this year!

Jeff and Bandit celebrating an early Christmas at my parent's house in Dallas.

We got to have Christmas with Emommy and Edaddy! What a treat!

We spent Thanksgiving at the Cowboys game, compliments of my wonderful Daddy! What a great experience! The stadium is amazing!

We had great seats!

Our wedding ceremony

These wonderful ladies threw me a lovely shower! Thank you Pam and Gale!

My Mom, Me, MIL, SIL

I carved a Texans pumpkin this year!

We spent Halloween with my friends at the best house party - Rickey is an amazing host! He proposed to Erin this year, we are so happy they are getting married!!! Lenti and Brandy came in town and stayed with us, or, little red riding hood and the vampire stayed with the sexy housewife...ha!

Daddy walking me down the aisle

Mr. & Mrs. Cleaver - Halloween

Jeff took me to Vegas for my birthday this year! I adore Vegas, and this was his first trip. He loved it! This pic is of us at Rain in The Palms.

Memorial Day. We spent the weekend at Jeff's parent's lakehouse in Crockett, TX.

Mother's Day with Jeff's family.

The girls in the limo after our wedding

Britney and Brandon's wedding. They are expecting their first baby in May!

Valentine's Day

Thanks for taking the time to take a look at our year! Wishing you a wonderful 2010!

Two years ago on this day...

2009-12-31T16:34:00.000-08:00

My amazing husband asked me to marry him!

As you can tell by the pictures below, I was beyond happy and incredibly surprised. New Year's Eve will always be a very special memory for us.

Happy New Year's to you and yours!!

Christmas 2009

2009-12-27T17:00:00.001-08:00

Wow...we are so lucky. I can say, with full confidence, that this was the best Christmas I have ever, ever had. I got to see each and every one of the family members that I love, I celebrated my first Christmas with my husband, and we were surrounded with love and happiness all weekend! My parents came and stayed with us, and there are no words to describe how special it was to have my family here, at our home, for Christmas.

I love our tree so much!

Bandit checking out the presents

Our outside trees

Jeff and my Sister, Val

Saturday night, we got both of our families together for dinner at Shogun, our favorite place. Afterwards, everyone came to our house for some Wii competition and a little power hour.

Daddy & Val

I'm not sure what they are doing....

Me, Mom & Val. I have had a horrible cold all weekend, and Saturday was my worst feeling day. This picture shows you just how awful I felt. Yuck.

Mom, Val & Jeff

We had a wonderful Christmas at Jeff's parents' home. We had a great dinner, fun present time, and went through lots of old pictures of Jeff and his sister, Jenny. It was so fun!

My pinwheels!

My sausage balls were a bit hit!

Val gave Daddy a picture of the three of us from the Cowboys game on Thanksgiving. What a special gift! You can tell by this picture how much it meant to him.

Present Time!

Bandit helping Jeff with his gifts...

Bandit loved what Santa brought him!

We gave Mom and Daddy a wedding album. They love it!

Mom's face when she realized she was getting the wedding album...

Bandit's Stocking

Breakfast...yum!!

Santa a.k.a my Mom, brought our stockings all the way from Dallas!

Val's Graduation

2009-12-22T19:30:00.000-08:00

I am SO proud of my little sister! She graduated from UNT last weekend - as a Math major. Guess we know who got the brains in our family...haha! She also already has a job, teaching math at NCTC, a community college in the North Dallas area. She went in for her first interview the day before graduation, and they offered her the job on the spot! They are lucky to have her! Valerie has grown into such a beautiful, thoughtful, successful young woman, and I am proud to call her my sister. Thank you Val, for letting Jeff and I be a part of your graduation weekend!

My mom lined her cap with a red boa...can you find her in the crowd : )

Congrats Graduate!

Baus - Lowe Wedding

2009-12-08T17:53:00.000-08:00

I've been meaning to blog about this beautiful wedding for weeks, and just haven't taken the time to do it!
Tiffany and Brent had a beautiful wedding in Dallas, the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Their wedding was centered around love and family, and was so touching! Here are a few pics.
Mom & Daddy

The "Dinner Club"

Our first married Christmas picture!

Jeff, me, Mom and Daddy

ALL of the Mom's fitting in the photobooth

The couple's first of many newsletters, telling their stories and fun facts about each of them. They have an email address set up where you can sign up to receive future issues. So cute!

The escort card trees. Mom took the ones she made for our wedding and changed them to match her vision. Beautiful!

The wedding centralized around family. The theme, "Inspired by Love, Surrounded by Inspiration" was a tribute to their families.

Mom, me & Valerie

Her dress was beautiful, A Maggie Sottero Lavina Royale

The Happy Couple

Valerie and her Groomsman

The welcome note, so pretty and thoughtful.

We had such a wonderful night!

It's Snowing!!!!

2009-12-04T12:16:00.000-08:00

It's snowing in Houston!!

As my Edaddy said when I emailed him, "You must be mistaken, it doesn't snow in Houston"!

Well, it is today! It is so beautiful and majestic, we don't get to see it very often. We'll see how wonderful I think it is on my commute this afternoon though...

Hope you enjoy the snow!

Cowboys Game!

2009-11-30T19:29:00.000-08:00

Jeff and I were lucky enough to go to the Cowboys game on Thanksgiving! Daddy got us tickets, so we spent the afternoon with him & Val. It was so much fun. We had not been to the new stadium yet, so we were so excited to see it! It is amazing - it was an experience. Both upper ends of the end zone are standing room only, and they have miller light girls dancing on platforms, like in a dance club or something. It was pretty amazing. The club level felt more like a swanky lounge than a football stadium, but it was really nice.

Chris Daughtry performed at half time.

Half time show.

My sister and me.

The bar near our seats.

Daddy & Val.

This TV is huge. We had pretty good seats, but I kept catching myself watching the screen! It was great for replays!

Hope you enjoy the pictures!

Monday Night Football!

2009-11-24T17:12:00.001-08:00

For Jeff's birthday this year, I decided to buy him Texans tickets. When I asked what game he would like to go to, of course he chose Monday Night Football! So...we have been looking at them on our fridge since July! Needless to say, we were more than ready! Neither of us had been to a Monday Night Football game, or tailgated before a Texans game. We had so much fun - even though our hearts broke in those last seconds of the game when Brown missed the field goal.

Sarah and me

Tailgating girls

The tailgaters were amazing! There were some incredible set ups out there. Full bars, dance clubs, bands, and some of the biggest smokers and grills I have ever seen. Texan Tailgaters are rockstars!

I can't wait to go to another game!

Third Eye Blind Concert

2009-11-07T19:36:00.000-08:00

Self portrait - these never turn out well...

The band playing in a coffee house like setting. Amazing.

I have had a crush on Steve Jenkins for years...he is such a cutie! And yes, he still plays without shoes.

One of Jeff's favorite bands is Third Eye Blind. I loved them in high school, but haven't seem them in concert in 12 years! When Jeff found out they were coming to Houston, I bought tickets immediately. I am so glad we went, it was so great! They sound better live than in the studio in my opinion. And, just as great, if not better, than 12 years ago.

This was our first time at the Verizon Wireless Theatre. What a great venue! I don't think there is a bad seat in the house, and the floor space is great. There were no lines in the bathroom, and bars were conveniently located to each section. We will make a point to go to more events there.

Happy Halloween!

2009-11-01T17:39:00.001-08:00

Jeff and I had such a fun Halloween! We were invited to the best party ever - at Rickey's house. We dressed as June & Ward Cleaver. Lenti and Brandy came into town - it was just like college again!

Brandy the Vampire and Lenti Little Red Riding Hood

Jeff's favorite song...I'm on a boat and, I'm goin fast and...

Jill the Ninja Turtle

Jeff with some of his favorite girls : )

Lenti, Me and Bran

Yes, that is a ninja turtle at the shot block

The Vampire and the Housewife

Jill & Me

Go Texans!

2009-10-25T19:29:00.000-07:00

Thanks to my wonderful boss, Jeff and I had a great afternoon at the Texans game! Our seats were amazing!

This was Jeff's first Texans game, I know, *gasp*

He is such a huge fan, and it was so fun to watch him enjoy being so close to the action.

I love our stadium

Our former Presidents

Zieg Fest

2009-10-25T19:23:00.001-07:00

We spent Saturday night with our friends at Zieg Fest at the Race Track. It was so fun! Good friends, Texas Country, and my Aggies beat Texas Tech! What more could a girl ask for?

Pumpkin Lights

2009-10-25T19:16:00.000-07:00

We were feeling badly because we are one of the few houses on our block without any halloween decorations. I haven't made the time to carve a pumpkin, and we are not really ghosts and witches people. So, we found these cute pumpkin lights : ) Jeff was such a sweet husband and set them up for me. I think they are so cute!

Vegas Baby!

2009-10-21T18:00:00.000-07:00

Jeff took me to Vegas for my birthday, and we had an amazing time!!! We can't wait to go back!

Us at Rain, at The Palms
Frank Calendrio - What a great show!

The Volcanos at The Mirage

Samba at The Mirage

NY NY

Nine Fine Irishmen

Out on the Town

Enjoying the Pool

Our hotel

Birthday!

2009-10-13T19:42:00.000-07:00

Thank you to all of my wonderful family and friends that made my birthday so wonderful!

I got these BEAUTIFUL flowers from Mom and Daddy.

Jeff took me out to dinner on the actual day to our fave sushi place : ) We had a great time!

Thursday night, we went to Ian's happy hour to send him off to Dallas.

Friday night, we went to WineStyles with our friends and tried wines from Meeker winery. They are our favorite wines ever!!

Saturday, we packed up and went to Conroe to the Cajun Catfish Festival and saw Cory Morrow and Wade Bowen, and quite a few interesting people.

Sunday, I had my birthday brunch with the girls and had so much fun!

I am so blessed to have such wonderful family and friends, I love you all!

Wonderful Weekend!

2009-10-06T07:46:00.001-07:00

Jeff and I spent last weekend in Dallas, celebrating Daddy's and my birthdays!

We had such a great time!! The boys watched football while Mom and I got a pedicure. Then Daddy cooked us an AMAZING dinner! Steaks with crab meat, asparagus and berneaus sauce - yummy! We got to spend time with Valerie, which was so fun!

We headed home Sunday (too soon if you ask me) and it took us almost 6 hours because of the weather. We were SO ready to be out of the car.

Happy Birthday Daddy and thank you both for a perfect weekend!

Look What I Made

2009-09-27T16:18:00.001-07:00

CUPCAKES!!

I made these for my Edaddy, they are in transit to Killen, AL as I type : ) I hope they make it safely!

Here's how I did it - http://wifey-in-training.blogspot.com

5 Months!

2009-09-27T11:03:00.001-07:00

I cannot believe that we have been married for five months! Almost half a year : )

September went by so quickly...fall is here. Before we know it, we will be decorating for Christmas and planning Thanksgiving dinner. I am so excited to celebrate the holidays with my new husband!

Kristi's Baby Shower

2009-09-20T16:22:00.001-07:00

I recently attended a baby shower for Kristi and Talton's first baby! It was so fun and wonderful - that I just had to share the details. The hostesses did such a wonderful job!

The theme was pirates, which matches the theme of Baby Conner's nursery. They had each little detail taken care of, from palm trees, to fishing nets, parrots...you name it, these wonderful ladies thought of it!

The cake table - how adorable is this?!

As Kristi opened her gifts, they were displayed around her and hung on a clothes line behind her so everyone could see. I have never seen this done before, and I loved it! It was a great way for everyone to see all the beautiful gifts without having to pass them around.

As a surprise, the Daddy to be was asked to come at the end of the shower. He was given gifts too, which I thought was so special. The Daddy's are easily forgotten in all of the shower excitement! Each gift bag had a cute poem and a gift. He got his favorite snacks for all of those late night feedings, a beautiful poem about being a role model, and this apron - equipped with everything he will need to change those dirty diapers - including a face mask and tongs! So cute!

These favors are the cutest I have seen - it's a thank you note from the baby!

The invitation asked that we all bring a book with instead of a card for the baby. He will have lots of bedtime stories to be read!

The gift to the Mommy to be from the hostesses was priceless. It is a toy chest shaped like a treasure chest. What a treasure (truly!) It will go beautifully in the baby's room, and I'm sure he will use it for years to come.

What a beautiful, fun day! Thank you so much for allowing me to be a part of it!

Congrats Kristi and Talton!!

Go Texans!

2009-09-20T14:59:00.000-07:00

How amazing was our football team today!!??

I have never seen Jeff so excited about a football game. As Texan fans, we had pretty much chalked this one up as a loss. But, faithfully, we tuned in to support our team. Wow were we suprised! We are not sure where this team has been - but they were amazing! Here are a few of the highlights.

Schaub threw for 357 yards & 4 touchdowns

Titans defensive tackle Jason Jones was ejected from the game for throwing a punch - right by our bench!

We sacked Collins once, and interecpted him once

The game was tied at 4 different points during the game

We won 34 - 31!!

David Anderson holding on to this pass for dear life!

Andre Johnson

We're so proud of our team!!

Why Men Love Sports

2009-09-16T10:52:00.000-07:00

I heard the greatest explanation of why men love sports on the radio today. Rush explained it well -

"Men love sports because they can be fully passionate about their teams - give them everything they've got - with no consequences. Try doing that with a woman."

I love it! The worst thing that can happen - is that their team could lose. Yes, that's awful, but not the end of the world. They are already immediately planning the strategy for the next week - no true heartbreak, awkward social situations...etc.

Prayers Please

2009-09-09T06:20:00.000-07:00

Good morning!
My Mom is having her gallbladder removed tomorrow morning. If you could please say a prayer for her and her doctors, I would appreciate it!
Thank you so much!

POC Weekend

2009-09-01T13:22:00.000-07:00

Jeff and I spent last weekend with Pappa in POC. We had such a nice time! We visited and watched football - and shared some wonderful stories and memories of Nana. We went to church on Sunday morning and heard a wonderful sermon! That is the most amazing little church - I am so glad that Pappa has such amazing brothers and sisters in Christ. Pappa took us to Clarks for the best oyster po'boy I have ever had, and then we got a little tour of the new things in POC. I wish we could have stayed longer!

4 Months!

2009-08-26T14:25:00.000-07:00

Jeff and I have been married for 4 months! Time has gone by so quickly - I cannot believe it has been 1/4 of a year. Marriage is wonderful!

Girls Weekend

2009-08-12T08:41:00.000-07:00

I spent last weekend with some of my favorite girls!!

Sarah came over on Thursday night, and I introduced her to WineStyles, my favorite little wine bar. She loved it so much, that she bought 8 bottles : ) Then we headed home to make baskets for Brandy's Mom's Breast Cancer Benefit.

We both took off on Friday, and headed to Austin to see Lenti. We swam, drank wine, and ordered pizza rolls and a chocolate chip pizza (I know, who knew?) for dinner - just like the college days ; )

Brandy came to spend Saturday with us, where we enjoyed the smallest pool floats EVER (I am so sorry that we didnt' get pictures) turkey burgers, and Lenti's Sangria - yum! It is so easy -

Large Bottle of Red Table Wine
2 Liters of Diet Sunkist Soda
Lemons & Limes, squeezed and then floated in the pitcher

We then headed to Moonshine for dinner - where Sarah and I got the biggest plates of Mac & Cheese I have ever seen! If you are ever in Austin, you have to try this place, it's amazing!

Thank you girls for a wonderful weekend; I needed it!

Poem for Nana

2009-08-06T06:12:00.000-07:00

My Pappa shared this poem with me this morning, and reminds me so much of my Nana's passing. I thought I would share.

God Only Takes the Best

God saw she was getting tired
And a cure was not meant to be

So He put His arms around her
And whispered "come with me"

With tearful eyes we watched her suffer
And watched her fade away

Although we loved her dearly
We could not make her stay.

A golden heart stopped beating
A warm loving heart to rest

God broke our hearts to prove to us
That he ONLY TAKES THE BEST

----Christopher Warner

Arrangements for Bernice Adams

2009-07-28T08:26:00.000-07:00

Thursday, July 30th -

Church Service at the First Baptist Church of Port O'Connor at 10AM
First Baptist Church
410 W Jefferson Ave.
Port O'Connor, TX 77982

Grave Side Service to follow at 3:30PM in Houston at Forest Park Lawndale Cemetery.
Forest Park Lawndale
6900 Lawndale Street
Houston, TX 77023
713-928-5141

Funeral Home:
Richardson Colonial Funeral Home
123 Newlin
Port Lavaca, TX 77979
361-552-2988

If you would like to send flowers, please send them to the funeral home. They will make sure that get to where they need to be. If you would like to make a memorial donation in lieu of flowers, please send it to -

First Baptist Church
PO Box 9
Port O'Connor, TX 77982

Love you all and will see you soon.

Nana

2009-07-27T19:29:00.000-07:00

Nana went to heaven tonight. Daddy, Pappa and Mom were there with her. Her last breaths were peaceful.

Thank you for all of your prayers and support. Love you all.

Nana Update

2009-07-27T12:37:00.000-07:00

Nana is settled in her new room.
Her blood pressure is slightly lower than it was this morning. 55/21
Her doctor got her some little eye patches and drops to keep her eyes from getting dry.
Her blood pressure drops when family leaves the room, which leaves the doctor to believe that she is able to hear.

Nana Update

2009-07-27T09:50:00.000-07:00

They are now moving Nana to a regular room. Her blood pressure is lower than it was yesterday. She will be in room 589.

Nana

2009-07-27T07:32:00.000-07:00

On Friday, I got an email from my Mom saying that Pappa called Daddy and asked him to come. Nana took a turn for the worse. I do not know how to explain the events of the past 8 months, but I'll try to start with her surgery last week.
Her 7 hour intestinal surgery that she had a little over a week ago is not healing properly, and an infection set in. After the surgery, she was breathing on a ventilator, and they kept her in a coma for 5 days while her body healed and she gained enough strength to breath on her own. She was awake and breathing, but not talking. We were hopeful. It was a very difficult decision to choose to have the surgery, but she, Pappa and Daddy decided together that the way she was living was not the life she wanted. She did not want to live in a hospital bed for the rest of her life on liquid nourishment with tubes in her tummy.

Friday morning, I got the email from my mom. Daddy went to be with Pappa, at the hospital in Victoria. The doctors informed them that their was fluid around her heart. We later found out that the fluid had moved into her lungs.

Saturday morning, Mom called and said that Daddy asked her to come from Dallas to Victoria, and said that it was not expected for her to make it through the day. He asked to her go to Houston to our house. When she arrived, we packed up and drove to Victoria.

She is in ICU in a special bed that her doctor ordered her. It moves her and gives her a light massage, the same idea as a pedicure chair at the nail place. Pappa awoke her, and she looked at Mom and I with huge brown eyes. She knew we were there - and she knew who we were. I feel very sure of this. She communicated with her big brown eyes, and her head moved with the sounds of our voices. She looked at Daddy quite a bit, as if asking for answers. She tried to talk, but she couldn't. Her mouth stayed open, and her breaths were very labored and infrequent. You could hear the fluid in her chest. Her average was about 17 breaths per minute. Her blood pressure stayed pretty steady. We left her that night to rest.

Saturday morning, she seemed to be doing better. Her blood pressure was higher, things seemed to be perking up. We discussed how sometimes God does things to remind us that he is in control and to trust him. He is in complete and total control and we trust him. Completely. By the time Mom and I arrived for the 9AM visiting hour, she was not doing as well. Her body is not absorbing the liquids that they are giving her through the IVs, and it is seeping out of her pores all over her body. She is swollen and puffy. She has not woken up and does not know that we are there.

I took wedding pictures for us all to look at and enjoy. Pappa and I relived the fun parts of Jeff and my wedding day through hundreds of snapshots - with a few tears in between for the battle that Nana went through and how hard she fought to attend our wedding, and grateful tears, because she was able to be there.

The ICU staff allows us to stay with her all day - because they know the end is coming soon. Regular visiting hours are every 3 hours from 6AM to 9PM, for 30 minutes each time. The waiting room is full of weary, worried faces of people waiting to see their loved ones. I am thankful that we get to spend the time with Nana, but at the same time scared and very sad to watch her fight.

We leave the room while they change her dressings, and her bed sheets and such. You can hear her moaning with pain from the hallway. Pappa tells us the story of how they met when he returned from the Navy. He spotted her in the church choir, and said to his sister, who is that girl? Janelle responded with oh, that's Bernice, she goes with so-and-so. He said, I don't care who she goes with, I have to meet her. He got to know her by driving her home from church one day. She was 17 and lived at the YWCA, and welcomed the rides to and from church. They had their first kiss weeks later when her dropped her off after church one evening. A few months later, they were engaged. Of course, they wanted a big wedding, but they didn't have any money. Pappa said that they saved and saved for their big celebration, and in the middle of their saving, their church had a big building drive. He remembered the two of them sitting down together and discussing that they would give $25 from their wedding fund, which was a lot of money for them then.

Pappa was determined for Nana to have the beautiful wedding that she wanted. He built a little picket fence with a gate for them to walk through, and a large archway for them to say their vows under, and painted them white. His sister, Frances, decorated the structures with vines and white flowers. The church choir was set up behind them, and Pappa did not like the way that the chairs looked in the church. So, he borrowed faux grass from the local funeral home to put under the chairs to make it look more like a garden. What a sweet, wonderful man.

When we came back into the room, Nana was awake and very upset. They hurt her. Not purposely of course, but all of the activity was painful and traumatic for her. Pappa broke down - how do you watch your wife, your best friend that you made your life with for over 50 years - suffer like that? I have never, in my life seen something so moving, so sad. I will never forget how that looked, felt, sounded. He tells her how much he loves her, and how much he will miss her. He is now the only person that she responds to. This was the most heartbreaking part of my time in ICU with Nana and my family. We all told her how much we loved her, and Pappa told her that he would see her soon, and to go and hug their daughter, Brenda for him. We told her that it was okay, that we knew how tired she was, and that we would take great care of Pappa, that she could go when she was ready. The four of us held hands a prayed for her.

Her doctor came to visit and they made the decision to take her off of her medications. They are now only giving her nutrients (food) through the IV. She only responds to Pappa, and those responses are slight. Her heart rate has dropped slightly, and her breathing has gotten easier. She is breathing more breaths per minute, almost double. When Pappa leans over and talks to her, her breathing pattern becomes erratic, like she is listening or wanting to tell him something. She knows he is there.

I drove back to Houston last night, and from reports this morning, everything is the same. No changes, good or bad. We are just waiting for God to take her.

Please pray for her comfort and for our family. Thank you.

Roger Creager

2009-07-22T06:43:00.000-07:00

We went to see Roger Creager at the Dosey Doe last night with our friends and had so much fun!

It was like a coffee house setting, with a dinner and a show atmosphere. The place was really western, and each piece of lumber was cut with a special saw and shipped from Kentucky or something like that.

I have always really liked Roger Creager, but I like him even more now! He seems really personable and fun.

Try out the Dosey Doe, they have some great shows coming up!

Mom's Birthday Weekend

2009-07-21T07:03:00.001-07:00

Jeff and I spent the past weekend in Dallas celebrating my Mom's birthday. We had such a great time!

Friday night we went to Patrizo's and had amazing Italian food. We spent Saturday on Lake Lewisville on the boat, and Valerie joined us at Sneeky Pete's for lunch and some good ole' lake floating. I didn't realize that Jeff had never done a lake day with my family before. It is one of my top 5 favorite things to do; I just love being on the water.

Happy Late Birthday Mom!

Nana Update

2009-07-16T07:16:00.001-07:00

Good morning!
I am happy to report that Nana's operation went well yesterday and they are expecting her to make a full recovery! The power of prayer is so amazing, and I cannot thank all of you that prayed for our family enough!

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and
petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace
of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your heart and your minds
in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7

Prayers Please

2009-07-13T11:55:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, my Nana has been in and out of the hospital since November. My Daddy and Pappa are with her today, and are meeting with the doctors to make some difficult decisions regarding her care. Please pray for her and for guidance and comfort for my Daddy and Pappa.

Thank you so very much for the prayers.

Jeff's Birthday

2009-07-12T18:12:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Jeff's 29th birthday with our friends at the Eli Young Band concert and Red River on Saturday! It was a perfect birthday! Thank you all for making it special!

Happy Birthday Jeff!

2009-07-08T07:01:00.000-07:00

Jeff is 29 years old today!

Happy Birthday to the most wonderful Husband a girl could ask for!

2009-07-08T05:51:00.000-07:00

Jeff and I had such a fun July 4th weekend in Crockett, Texas!

We spent the weekend with his parents at their lakehouse, and experienced all the July 4th activities the little town had to offer. We went to the July 4th parade, where they actually prayed over the loudspeaker before - it has been so long since I have been somewhere other than church and heard prayer in such a large group. It was so wonderfully refreshing! All the kids had their little bikes decorated, and there were firetrucks, classic cars, and a huge republican float! It was wonderful. We even tasted one of the entries in the homemade ice cream contest : )

We spent the afternoon down by the water, drinking and swimming. Bandit loved swimming in the lake - as long as someone was holding him!

We went to the civic center that night to watch the fireworks - I was so suprised at how beautiful they were for such a small town!

Pics to come soon :)

Great Weekend!

2009-06-28T17:53:00.000-07:00

Jeff and I just got home from a wonderful weekend at my parents house. We celebrated Father's Day a week late, and had a great time at "Club Adams".

Love you Mom and Daddy and thank you for another great weekend!

More Sheffler Wedding Pics

2009-06-22T19:08:00.000-07:00

Britney & Brandon's Wedding

2009-06-21T14:12:00.000-07:00

We just got home from a wonderful wedding weekend in Jourdanton, TX, the bride's hometown. Britney and Brandon are dear friends of ours, and it was so special to see them say their vows, and to get to know their families and other friends better.

They had a beautiful catholic traditional ceremony in the church that Britney grew up in. They had an amazing photographer with such creative ideas - I cannot wait to see her pro pictures. The bridesmaids wore magenta dresses and carried pretty pink roses. The guys wore black tuxes with silver vests and ties - so handsome and classic. The reception was SO FUN and beautiful with green and pink flowers, candles and crystals everywhere. Jeff and I were introduced to two new things that we love - BBQ Lasagna and The Grand March. We feel so blessed that we were included in the wedding festivities!

Congrats to the New Mr. & Mrs. Sheffler!

My Favorite Thing at the Moment

2009-06-11T14:34:00.001-07:00

Strawberry Shots!

Melissa introduced me to these this weekend : )

It is a strawberry with the core removed, filled with amaretto and topped off with whipped cream!

Yummy!

Bachelor / Bachelorette Parties

2009-06-11T14:20:00.000-07:00

Jeff and I spent our first weekend apart as a married couple attending Britany and Brandon's Bachelor & Bachelorette Parties!
We had such a great time. The guys headed to Shereveport for gambling, drinking and boy stuff, and the girls headed to the river for a fun filled weekend!
We can't wait for their wedding!

Memorial Day Weekend

2009-05-25T19:04:00.000-07:00

Our first Memorial Day weekend as a married couple was wonderful!

We spent the weekend in Crockett, at Jeff's parent's lake house. We grilled, ate, drank, relaxed and enjoyed each other's company!

Then, we spent our first day landscaping our yard...lots of hard work! We have a long way to go, but we are making progress!

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

Wedding Pictures Posted!

2009-05-19T17:34:00.000-07:00

Our wedding pictures are posted!

Go to http://www.photographybyniki.com
Click on Weddings
Click on Clients
Type Michelle_Jeff_Wedding
(those are underscores)

Hope you enjoy!

Honeymoon Pics

2009-05-06T17:56:00.000-07:00

Back from the Bahamas!

2009-05-04T19:15:00.000-07:00

We are home!!

We had a wonderful honeymoon and will post pics soon : ) We loved the Bahamas so much, there isn't anything we would have changed.

Love you all and hope to see you soon!

More Wedding Pictures : )

2009-04-26T20:19:00.000-07:00

We're Married!!!!

2009-04-26T19:13:00.000-07:00

We had the most amazing wedding weekend! We are so grateful to everyone that worked so hard to make our day so incredible. Jeff and I are truly blessed to be surrounded by such wonderful people - thank you all for everything you have done for us. Your love and support is so important to us.

Mom and Daddy - there are no words to express how grateful we are - thank you for the most wonderful day of our lives.

Here are a few pics. We love you all and will be in touch when we get back from the Bahamas!

One Week!!

2009-04-18T19:00:00.000-07:00

So, one week from today, Jeff and I will be Mr. & Mrs.!!!!

We had a wonderful day of shopping, cleaning, and massages. Thank you Jenny & Mac for our massage certificates!

We can't wait to see everyone next weekend!

One Month to Go!

2009-03-24T18:00:00.000-07:00

One month from tomorrow....Jeff and I will be Husband & Wife!!!!

I can't believe it is almost here!

Bridal Shower

2009-03-22T16:06:00.000-07:00

Gale & Pam threw me a beautiful shower! Thank you very much to everyone that came to celebrate!

Bachelorette Party!

2009-03-22T15:55:00.000-07:00

I just had the most amazing Bachelorette Party in Vegas! Thank you so much to all of my wonderful friends, I could not have custom ordered a more perfect weekend! Here are a few pictures.

Shower Pictures

2009-03-08T19:24:00.001-07:00

Debbie hosted a beautiful shower for us. Thank you so much!

48 Days to Go!

2009-03-08T19:08:00.000-07:00

Jeff and I will be married in 48 days! Time sure has gone by quickly!

We have been blessed with wonderful friends and family that have showered us with gifts and well wishes. We are so thankful to everyone - especially my Mom - I am so lucky to have her!

Fun Wedding Planning Weekend!

2009-02-09T13:50:00.000-08:00

As most of you know, I consider myself very lucky to have the most wonderful parents in the world : )

My parents came in town this weekend, and chose our menu, finalized our wedding decor, and picked our cake! We had such a great time, and I am so excited!

The wedding is coming very soon....75 Days to go!

My Friends

2009-01-20T09:51:00.000-08:00

I would just like to say that I have the most wonderful friends in the world!

Thank you ladies for everything - I love you all!

Niagara Falls

2008-12-17T21:05:00.000-08:00

Jeff has been in NY for 2 weeks for his job training...and I just had to go visit him last weekend. 2 weeks is a really long time! We have not been apart for that long since we met.

We had a great time, I got to meet all of his new work friends, and we went to Canada to see Niagara Falls! It was so beautiful. Besides the 13 hour trip home (I will NEVER fly through Philly again), it was a great trip. I am ready for him to come home!

Thank You!

2008-12-09T12:59:00.001-08:00

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. Nana is home and doing well!

Nana

2008-11-23T12:26:00.000-08:00

My Nana had emergency surgery on Friday. She is recovering and will be in the hospital for at least the next week. Please pray for her and my Pappa.

Thank you!

Jeff's New Job!

2008-11-13T17:41:00.000-08:00

Jeff started his new job this week, and it is going great!

He is now working for a company that sells payroll services.

He will be in training through December, and gets to spend a couple of weeks in NY (and I get to visit : ))

I'm so proud of him!

Election 2008

2008-11-04T17:32:00.000-08:00

Jeff and I are sitting on our sofa watching all of this election coverage and wondering...what is going to happen if Obama wins? It scares me...I don't think that all of his supporters totally understand what they are supporting.

I don't think I'm going to be able to sleep until I find out who our next President will be!

Daddy Daughter Trip

2008-10-27T18:57:00.000-07:00

I just went on the most wonderful vacation ever! My Dad and I went to Hawaii for over a week, and had such a wonderful time. We relaxed, scuba dived, explored, ate wonderful food, and spent some very special time together. I have the most wonderful Daddy in the world!