December Recap

Since I am playing catch up and wasn't able to post most of the month, here are the highlights from December so far.  The first weekend of the month, we had a reunion couples retreat through the ministry we did our premarital education through.  Gary Thomas was the speaker that weekend and focused on marriage being something that was designed to give us the opportunity to deepen spiritually and not just to make us happy.

 

They hold this retreat at a really neat conference center just outside of Salado on a lot of land.  It's so serene and was nice to get away.   We enjoyed exploring the property in our free time.

 

 It was beautiful.

Megan, Kaleigh, and me

We also enjoyed getting to spend time with friends.  Rich and Megan, who we first met in our premarital education class and are now some of our best friends got to come too.  I didn't take any pictures, but Saturday night we went into Salado for their Christmas Stroll.  They have vendors that set up all along main street downtown.  Two words... kettle popcorn.  Yum!  We had a great time walking through town seeing all of the lights and the live nativity scene as well.

December 7th was my mom's birthday.  JW and I went over to my parents' house to hang out with Claire and Hunter while my dad took mom out to dinner.  We decided to bake her a cake while they were gone.  Unfortunately, due to a goofy silicone bundt pan, the cake didn't turn out so well.  It tasted pretty good, but was pretty much a disaster.  Oh well!  It's the thought that counts, right? :)

Beautiful momma; not so beautiful cake...

And, last weekend we drove up to Dallas for our annual family Christmas celebration with my mom's family at G-Ma's house.

Sibling picture.  They are lots of fun.  It's always a good time when we all get together.  Highlights this year were that the girls actually had some "steals" in our white-elephant gift exchange, and we played a fierce game of Spoons.  Typically the girls are polite and don't steal each other's gifts while the boys max out their number of steals on several gifts.  This year we got a little feisty.

Aunt Millie came to the party sporting a couple of band-aids on her fingers from Spoons injuries she got the night before.  She also came with a deck of cards in her purse, so we played after dinner.  It was intense and a bunch of fun.

Me and Grandpa

We stayed with Shay and Adam while we were in Dallas that weekend.  The pups came too and had a great time with Rye.  They wore each other out and were good buddies by the end of the weekend.

Pretty sad that I have a picture of all our dogs, but not one of all of us humans together.  

Shay took our Christmas card picture for us Saturday morning.  It turned out well and we are so thankful she helped us get it done!  We had such a good time and kept trying to talk them into moving to Houston one day. :)  We'll see.

 

Today is Hunter's birthday!  He is 10 years old.  

 Me and Hunter

We got to go to his party this afternoon at a place full of trampolines called Sky Zone.  Dodge ball, basketball dunking, jumping into a foam pit... every boy's dream!  My big kid of a hubs had a great time too.

It's starting to look like Christmas at our house.  We are getting all of our last minute shopping done and preparing to have Christmas dinner with my dad's family at our house on Sunday.  I am looking forward to having everyone over!  JW and I are both not working next week, so it will be a nice break. 

Don't you just love Christmas?  It's definitely my favorite time of the year!

Better Late Than Never

It's been almost a month since my last post!  Where has the time gone?  I've had this predicament with my google memory being full, so Blogger wouldn't let me upload any pictures.  Thus, until I had time to work on a solution, I haven't wanted to post.  I was able to open a Photobucket account to upload pictures to, and think I've got it figured out for now.  Whew!

So, I have a lot to catch up on.  First stop... our Thanksgiving holiday!  I was able to take the whole week off of work which was really nice.  Shay was in town at the beginning of the week, so I got to spend some time with her which was fun.  I also got a lot of things done around the house and marked off of our perpetual to-do list.  It was a nice break! 

Thanksgiving morning I woke up and made this yummy Pumpkin French Toast (recipe below), and we watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. 

Then, we spent the day at Momma Hance's house. She hosted her family for a big Thanksgiving meal.

Three generations of women



Sarah and Hoffman came with their sweet baby Cason.  He was definitely the star of the show.  So cute!



I was making fun of JW for wearing shorts and flip flops on Thanksgiving and he was giving me grief about wearing boots and a sweater with it being 70 degrees outside.  Houston weather!  You just can't win.



The family



Momma Hance gave Max the ham bone and it didn't even last 20 minutes.  Poor Calamity just followed him around licking up the scraps.



Then, on Friday we drove up to Dallas to celebrate with my mom's family.  It was fun to have everyone all together.  We don't get to do it very often since we live in different cities.  We had dinner as a family on Friday night and then played Apples to Apples.  It was quite fun!

Never a dull moment with this crew... back scratching train!



Saturday was the Baylor vs. Tech game at Cowboy's stadium.  We have a family divided with Taylor and our cousin, Matt, at Texas Tech and me and my cousin, Erica, as Baylor Bears.  My mom wore both schools since she loves us both equally. :)



Sibling rivalry

One big happy (yet divided) family!

It was a fun day.  The Bears pulled out a win in overtime so it was definitely exciting, and I sure didn't mind throwing a bear claw in Taylor's face at the end of the game. :)

We drove back to Houston on Sunday and stopped to see Joey's dad's family for lunch on the way back.  It was a great Thanksgiving filled with time with the ones we love. 

Pumpkin French Toast

Author: Minimalist Baker

Prep time: 10 hours 10 mins

Cook time: 40 mins

Total time: 10 hours 50 mins

Serves: 10

 Sweet and spicy pumpkin french toast is made the night before for an easy, early-morning preparation.

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 - 4 1/2 cups 1-inch bread cubes (depending on type of bread)
• 7 large eggs
• 2 cups milk (any kind)*
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1/4 cup pumpkin BUTTER (or 1/2 cup pumpkin puree)*
• 3-4 tablespoons brown sugar for topping
• nuts, like pecan or walnuts (optional)

Instructions

1. Cut any kind of bread into 1-inch cubes - I recommend a crusty, whole grain variety, but sandwich bread will work, too. Just use enough slice to fill a lightly greased 9x13 baking dish quite full.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, vanilla, pumpkin butter and pie spice until well combined. Pour over bread and push down with a spoon or your hands until it's all soaked and mostly covered. Cover with saran wrap or lid and refrigerate overnight.
3. In the morning, preheat oven to 350 degrees, uncover and top with brown sugar, additional pumpkin pie spice and nuts (optional). Bake for 35-45 minutes or golden brown and no longer wet.
4. Serve immediately with maple syrup, honey or agave nectar. Store leftovers in the refrigerator covered for up to a couple days.

Note:

* If using pumpkin puree instead of pumpkin butter, it's important to compensate the flavor by adding a bit more puree, pumpkin pie spice, and a little agave nectar, brown sugar or maple syrup to the batter. Otherwise, it will lack that delicious fall, pumpkin flavor you're going for. 

Thankful to be in Houston

Update: Pictures added
When JW was interviewing for jobs with different firms and received an offer from one in Houston, we didn't fully realize the blessing that it would be to live near family.  In fact, after living the first three years of our married lives in a different city than our families, we were a little nervous about the transition.  JW and I are both are the oldest of big families and love them very much.  When we moved back we wanted to remain independent as a couple, but also wanted to be more involved in the small stuff that we missed living three hours away.

As I reflect over the last couple of months, I am so grateful that we are here and that God in His perfect timing has us in Houston.  I have several pictures of everyday stuff I wanted to share with this post, but my google memory is apparently full.  I didn't want to wait on this post though, so I'll have to add those later when I get it figured out.

We have gotten to be a part of little stuff like going to siblings' sporting events and being a part of impromptu shopping trips and dinner visits.  We have also been around for bigger events like a Women's Ministry event my mom was in charge of featuring the Christian comedian, Chonda Pierce.  I got to be there in support of my mom and see her in action.  She really is amazing and it's fun to see God use her for things she never imagined she'd be doing.  I am proud of her.

We are so grateful that we have been close to spend time with loved ones that were sick.  JW's Papa had had a scare with seizures and was in the hospital recently.  We were able to spend the day with JW's family laughing and crying together.  Their family is so close and I really wish I could post some of the pictures I took of Uncle Ricky that day in Papa's hospital room.  He was a great comic relief.  This family has such a fun sense of humor and I am grateful to be a part of it.

My grandmother has been battling diabetes for months, but as her health deteriorated over the last several weeks, I was able to run over there after work with dinner to spend time with her, my dad, and my Aunt Kimmie.  I was able to take off work and spend the day over there when I just wanted to be next to her and to hug my aunt and tell her how strong I think she is.  I got to be there for some of the last moments with my grandma before she met Jesus.  I have sweet memories of sitting next to her bed while she slept, holding her hand and singing worship songs to her.  She loved music, especially hymns.  I have memories of singing with her while she played the keyboard growing up.  Grandma went to be with the Lord last Saturday, November 17th.  We miss her a lot, but can't help but rejoice that she is no longer suffering; that she has met her Maker and is in heaven with her family that is already there; and that she is in heaven looking down on us and waiting to be with us again one day.

Grandma and me playing dress up

We have so much to be grateful for this year.  The Lord has blessed us immensely, but I think among the many things we have to be thankful for, family is at the top of the list.  Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

Legal Oath

Wednesday, JW was sworn in as a Texas attorney.  He took his legal oath in the court room at his firm surrounded by family and colleagues.  It was very special to have an intimate ceremony conducted by a fellow attorney and former member of the Texas House of Representatives, Joe Nixon. 

Following the signing of his legal paperwork, JW had a short speech planned.  I knew he was good at arguing and good with words, but it's not very often that we have an occasion to hear him address a crowd.  My hubs is a great public speaker and had some very sweet things to say as he thanked everyone.  Seeing as the room was filled with some of the most senior and well-respected attorneys at the firm, it was a really neat opportunity.

Of course the kids of the family wanted to try out the judge's seat. :)

We were so thankful to have Nana and Papa there.  We rescheduled the original swearing-in ceremony because Papa was in the hospital last Friday.  He gave us quite the scare, but is doing much better now.  We are so grateful!

Carol, Nana, and Papa

After the ceremony, we took everyone down to see JW's office.  He is getting settled and it is looking good.  I'll have to post pictures another time.  The family was all impressed and excited to see where JW is spending his time making roads for himself as a newly licensed attorney.  Then, we took the gang out to dinner at Maggiano's to celebrate.  It was yummy and everyone had a doggie bag to take home with them as a favor at the end of the night. 

 

Em offices right across the street from Maggiano's and stopped by to congratulate JW on her way home.  We hadn't taken any family pictures yet, so she did the honors.  We are so glad she did!

Joey and his dad

Me and the hubs

The whole family

Yay!  Proud family!

We also videoed the short ceremony of JW taking his oath, but I am having some technical difficulties getting it uploaded.  So, if I'm able to get it to work, I will add that to this post later.  It was a special night of celebration and we are all very proud of JW.

Fall Celebrations

Happy Friday!  We have been celebrating a lot around here lately.  Halloween was this week and it was the first one for us in our new neighborhood in Houston.  The dogs were going crazy every time someone came to the door.  It was just so exciting to meet all those new friends and they love kids and wanted to give each one of them kisses in the face, so they ended up being banned to the backyard.  We had a lot of kids, but didn't run out of candy.  I think we bought too much...  We may or may not have purchased candy in bulk during that week of the month when I happened to be craving chocolate.  :)  So, we bought the good stuff and poor kids only got my left-overs after having it in the house for a week.

The day before Halloween, JW's cousin, Sarah, who also lives in Houston with her husband had their baby.  Sweet baby Cason was born on Tuesday, so after we were done handing out candy to trick-or-treaters, we went to go visit.

He is such a sweet and healthy boy.  Isn't he adorable?

 

In other news... bar exam results came out yesterday, and just like we all thought... JW passed!  What a huge accomplishment!  I am so proud of JW and all of his hard work.  He's officially a licensed lawyer now.  I'm a proud wife!



Happy weekend, y'all!

Rise

I attended a Women's Bible Study event tonight at my church with Beth Moore and was so blessed by it.  JW and I have been attending Bayou City Fellowship, a church I first learned about the Living Proof Ministries blog, since we moved back to Houston this summer.  We tried a few others, but really felt led that BCF is where God wanted us.  Beth's son-in-law, Curtis Jones, is the pastor, and he is such a powerful motivator of faith.  The church is only a year old, and has already grown so much. 

Rise is BCF's quarterly women's night of worship and teaching by Beth Moore.  This was my first time to attend and my mom got to join me.  It was a powerful evening.  The Bible study was on 2 Kings 5:1-14 and we talked about God's power to heal us of the things holding us back from truly living for Him. The healing that God offers is sometimes hard and requires much of us, but we can be mighty women of valor living for Him if we allow the Spirit to help us.

One of the worship songs we sang was so moving and powerful to me.  The lyrics are below.  I don't want to forget the impact they had on me tonight.

"Beneath The Waters (I Will Rise)"
by Hillsong United

This is my revelation
Christ Jesus crucified
Salvation through repentance
At the cross on which He died

Now hear my absolution
Forgiveness for my sin
And I sink beneath the waters
That Christ was buried in

[Chorus]
I will rise, I will rise
As Christ was raised to life
Now in Him, now in Him
I live

I stand a new creation
Baptized in blood and fire
No fear of condemnation
By faith I'm justified

[Chorus]
I will rise, I will rise
As Christ was raised to life
Now in Him, now in Him
I live

I rise as You are risen
Declare Your rule and reign
My life confess Your Lordship
And glorify Your Name
Your Word it stands eternal
Your Kingdom knows no end
Your praise goes on forever
An on and on again

No power can stand against You
No curse assault Your throne
No one can steal Your glory
For it is Yours alone
I stand to sing Your praises
I stand to testify
For I was dead in my sin

[Chorus]
But now I rise, I will rise
As Christ was raised to life
Now in Him, now in Him
I live

Fall Polish

I love having my nails painted.  It's not often that you'll find them bare.  I love all the new colors I can where when the seasons change too.  So, even though it doesn't feel like fall outside, and I can't wear fall sweaters and boots, (I've tried to wear boots and my feet just end up hot all day), I can wear fall nail polish. 

JW and I had date night last night, and before dinner stopped into Target to pick up a few things.  I needed some things in the cosmetic section and ended up trying on nail polish.  JW was patient with me, and here's what I came home with.

I have never worn anything like this copper color, and probably wouldn't have picked it out off the shelf, but a co-worker had it on last week and I loved it.

This is a deep golden bronze color.

Via

 I didn't buy this one, but will next time I see it.  I think it's a cool fall neutral.

Essie: Sand Tropez

Via

 Apparently, I am liking metallics this fall.  What are you wearing?

P.S.  Shout-out to my talented friend, Shay, who just started a neat "techy tips and tricks" blog called The Pocket Buzz.  That's where I learned how to add text to my photos from my iPhone for this blog.  Go check it out!  I promise you'll learn something. :)