3 Years

Today, JW and I celebrate 3 years of being husband and wife.  We are in a good place.  JW is done with law school and the bar, we have settled in Houston close to family, I have started a new job and JW will be starting his at the beginning of next month, and we have found a new church that we love and are excited to get more involved in.  We feel so blessed.

We feel blessed to have a best friend in each other, to love each other more now than we did three years ago on the day we got married, and blessed to be at a somewhat "settled" time in our lives.  God has provided and taught us much.  We love doing life together and look forward to many years to come and the journey. 

Speaking of journeys... tomorrow we leave for vacation!  Three years to the day after we got on a plane for Puerto Vallarta for our honeymoon, we are headed to Jamaica to celebrate our 3rd anniversary, law school being over, and the upcoming career JW has as an attorney.  We are beyond excited.  So, I'm off to do laundry, pack, run errands, and all the other fun stuff that needs to be done before we leave!  See you in a little over a week!

Added:  Houston's is one of our favorite restaurants, and we hadn't been there since we moved back.  That's where we went for our anniversary dinner.  Yum!

X-O-X-O

Our Valentine's Day was fairly low-key this year.  I think it's neat that in marriage sometimes low-key can be just right... not any less special, but just comfortable.  If you're doing it right in a relationship, your spouse already knows how much you love them.  It's certainly wonderful to have a day dedicated to celebrating the love you have for one another, and as a hopeless romantic who loves to celebrate just about anything, I certainly would never turn down any excuse to do just that.

Heart Day was on a Tuesday this year, and my March for Babies Kick Off Luncheon was on Friday so work was busy, and a low-key night at home sounded great to us.  We took Dakota to her training class that meets on Tuesday evenings and then came home to cook a yummy meal together.  I shared our Valentine's Day Menu with you last week, but here's a look at the final product.  It was delish!

 Filet Mignon with Goat Cheese topping, steamed garlic broccoli, and roasted garlic mashed potatoes.

 The only down side to cooking a romantic dinner at home is that when you are finished, your kitchen looks like this...  We left it just like this until the day after Valentine's Day though.  No dishes on Heart Day. :)

 After dinner, we exchanged gifts to each other.

Joey got a four wheel drive remote control tank with an air soft gun on top of it that is called the Air Soft Justice Dealer.  Scary sounding, right?  He saw it around Christmas time when we were considering giving it to my brother.  We decided on something else, but I made a mental note because JW thought it was so cool that it could be a present for him one day.  I also found a football bean bag toss game at Marshall's.  It will be fun to play with friends in the backyard or at a tailgate.

Joey got me a pretty porcelain and iron spoon rest for the kitchen that I had pinned on Pinterest.  Yes, a couple of weeks before Valentine's Day when I was showing JW some things I had pinned, he realized what a helpful tool Pinterest could be in his shopping for me. :)  I have a resourceful hubby.

Along with our Valentine's Day card from my parents, my mom sent us these cute Valentine's Day debit cards.  We also got an email with these instructions.

Instructions from Mom: You are to spread them out and take turns picking a card to use for special favors or treats from your mate.  At the end you will each have six cards to collect on the specified "gift" from each other.  The best part is that once you redeem the card it then becomes the property of the other person so they can redeem it at a future time for the same gift or service.  They don't have an expiration date, but the more you use them the more fun you'll have together!  Happy spending and giving!

So fun, right?  So, as directed JW and I spread them out on the table face up, and I get to pick first.  I pick "Write me a Love Poem" because JW is good at that sort of thing and I didn't particularly want to do that one.  JW picks next and he picks "Night out Dancing" because he doesn't love to dance and if he picks it, I can't use it.  Now wait a minute, right?  That is not the idea here.  We are supposed to be using these to love each other, not scheming to avoid the ones we don't want to do...

So, we scold ourselves, put them all back, and turn them over- this time face down.  We take turns picking again and each get six cards that we are excited to redeem at any time.  JW proposes one trade- If I give him the "Dance 'Til Dark" card, he will give me "Breakfast in Bed".  I love breakfast, especially if it's in bed and I don't have to make it, so I agree to the trade.  They have been fun to use and redeem so far.  We have enjoyed "Breakfast in Bed", "Pizza for Two", and bought the ingredients for JW to make me a "Batch of My Favorite Cookies" in the near future.  Low-key doesn't mean insignificant.  We had a great day celebrating our love.  Can't believe this was our third Valentine's Day as a married couple... time flies!

A Weekend to Remember

I write this blog to be something that JW and I can look back on and remember our journey together.  I also like that it keeps friends and family updated on our lives, and I hope it is entertaining every now and then, but that is not my primary purpose.  So, sorry if this one is a little mushy, lame, or boring, but it's real, and I want to remember the weekend we just had.  Not because of what we did, because it wasn't anything significant, but because it was special in its own way.  Joey and I were able to catch up on some much needed time together and were productive in getting ready for the week ahead. 

Friday night we had date night!  We went out to dinner using a gift card we had to a local restaurant that we had never tried before.  The food was actually quite bad.  We sat there and laughed at the perplexing fact that the restaurant was packed with people who obviously loved it.  We waited in line to put our names on the list, to get a table, and to check out.  Maybe we're the ones with bad taste, but we didn't get it.  Oh well, at least we had a gift card and a good time together. :)  Then, we were off to the movies to see The Debt.  Not quite a great date night pick, but a pretty good movie none the less!

Saturday we slept in, and Joey spent most of the day reading and getting ready for his upcoming week of school.  We took a break to have lunch together and to take Harley to play in the big fenced in yard at the place we board her.  They are so nice to let us use their huge yard anytime to get some of our playful puppy's energy out.  We ran around and chased her until she laid down in exhaustion in the shade, and then brought her home to cool down in her little pool in the backyard.  My legs were a little sore the next day from all the running, and Harley was pretty subdued, so- success!  I did laundry, planned meals, made a grocery list, and picked up around the house while Joey continued on his school work.  We got pizza for dinner and took Har on a walk in the cool-ish evening weather and watched the lighting lit sky before it rained.  Hallelujah!

Sunday we went to church and worshiped together, had lunch with a new friend, and made a grocery run.  Then, we spent the afternoon on the couch watching the Texans game and/or reading and napping if your name is Amanda. :)  I cooked breakfast for dinner and we had 4 law school friends come over for our 4th Homecooked Sunday.  I made bacon-spinach quiche, pigs-in-a-blanket, cinnamon and orange rolls, and fruit salad.  Joey reviewed for quizzes, and I painted my toe nails before we got in bed at the same time for the third night in a row!  After we prayed together, Joey said, "That was a good weekend.  Probably one of the best we've had in awhile."  We have a busy week and upcoming weekend with Shay and Adam's wedding (yea!), so it was nice to relax and refresh together... just what we needed.  We all need a little R&R every now and then.  I hope your weekend was filled with just what you needed too.

Anniversary Celebration

Our anniversary fell on a Monday this year.  Joey still had one more week at the firm he was interning with in Houston, so I came in town and worked from my parents house for his last week.  We were both tired of being apart and especially didn't want to be in different cities on our anniversary.  It worked out that the firm had a few social events that I was able to attend as well. 

We had a little anniversary trip planned for the following weekend once his internship was over, so we decided to hold off on most of our celebration.  Monday evening Joey came home from work with beautiful roses for me, and we went out to dinner at Carrabba's in Sugar Land and then had ice cream at Marble Slab.  We talked a lot about our future and reflected on the two years we have been married.  It was a great evening and reminded me a little bit of high school, going on dates in the Land of Sugar. :)

Since we were in Houston, I called the bakery that did our wedding cake and asked them to make us an anniversary cake that was the same flavor and style of our wedding cake.  I picked it up on Friday and we took it back to Waco with us.

We cut into it that night when we got back.  Yum!  I didn't get a whole piece at the wedding.  It really was good cake!

Saturday we slept in, unpacked, ran errands, and re-packed for our little anniversary get-away.  We left Sunday morning for Granbury, TX.  We explored the historic downtown district and all the cute shops. We stopped for lunch at a little diner called Rinky Tinks that played the movie Grease while we ate.  The restaurant was a step back into the 50's.  We checked into the hotel and got ready for dinner at the only "fine dining" restaurant in Granbury open on Sunday night- Stringfellows.  We were the only people in the restaurant for most of our meal.  Kind of romantic...

After dinner we got candy and headed to the drive-in movie theater in town.  The last time we did this was right after we started dating again when we were in college.  This place played two movies in a row.  I made it through the first one, but slept through most of the second one.

Monday our plan was to enjoy the beach at Lake Grandbury.  It was right next to our hotel and looked so fun.  We got there without towels, chairs, floats, or an umbrella for shade and decided fast that we were armatures... it was so hot!  So we waded into the water, took a few pictures, wished we had some jet ski's or a boat, and packed up.  Next time we'll be more prepared!

Lake Granbury Beach

Then, we were off to Dinosaur World on our way back to Waco in Glen Rose.

It was an outdoor park with over 100 life-size dinosaur replicas... again it was hot, but fun!  Joey didn't realize I had an interest in dinosaurs, but hey- the Land Before Time movies were some of my favorites growing up!  This park made me want to watch them again.

We stopped at the Nike Outlet in Hillsboro before we got back to Waco and got Joey some cool new basketball kicks.  It was a fun weekend and a great celebration of our anniversary.  Now, Joey's gearing up for PC, practice court, that starts on Monday.  PC is the toughest part of Baylor Law School... so you could start praying for us now!  :)  I think we're both going to need it.

Two years ago today

Two years ago today I married my high school sweetheart and the man of my dreams.  I never thought that after dating for 7 years that I would love him more after we got married... I was wrong!  There is a country song called Then by Brad Paisley that talks about how a couple's love grew over time and through all of the life experiences they shared.  I now fully believe that our love will continue to deepen as we go through life together.

There were so many things about Joey that attracted me to him in the beginning.  The fact that I was 14 years old and he was 16 and could drive was a big perk! :)  But, other than that of course, he had a confident personality and strong character.  My parents always told me that dating was preparation for marriage, and there was no use dating someone that I couldn't see myself marrying.  In high school that seemed a little extreme, but as usual, they knew what they were talking about.  Because 7 years later the teenager I met my freshman year of high school and fell in love with would be the man I called my husband.  And today he is the man that I am so proud to be married to.  He is hard-working, strong, and generous.  He is the counsel that I trust and the opinion I want in any situation.  He is the safe place where amidst transition and uncertainty I find peace and comfort.  I am blessed to be married to a man that accepts me and encourages me to be all that I can be and all that God created us to be.  Two years has flown by, and I look forward to many more filled with meaningful memories and life experiences that will shape us and make us look back and say, "And I thought I loved you then."

Feels Like Home

Have you ever experienced the feeling of being at home when you are with a certain person?  I experience that comfortable feeling of being at home when I am with Joey.  I think I probably knew that spending time with him was something that I enjoyed and even made me happy.  But, this weekend, having him home and getting to just do life together felt like home.  We didn't do anything terribly significant- just hung out at home, washed cars, went to dinner and saw a movie, went to church together...  I didn't realize when we got married that I would be able to love my husband any more than I already did, but I do. Of course these sentiments and reflections are probably amplified because we are apart during the week and only together on the weekends right now. But I am thankful for these sentiments, the comfortable feeling of being at home with Joey no matter where we are or what we are doing. I am thankful that God allows us to live life with another as one. How rich the blessing of marriage is.



Below is a blog post by Lysa TerKeurst that I loved.

The Moment
So familiar can some of our relationships be, we forget. We rush. We assume. We feel like we have forever.

And feeling like we have forever cheapens the right now feelings.

Each morning I have a routine with my man. It’s simple. Nothing profound. Nothing for which we’d ever stop and snap a picture.

It’s just a moment.

He asks me to help him pick a tie. He then goes away to fuss with this fixture of his professional job. Soon, he returns with a flipped up collar and a pressed down, knotted tie. He needs gentle hands to fold the collar over. No, he doesn’t need. He wants gentle hands to fold the collar over.

And I do.

It’s just a moment.

But it’s something I would miss with the deepest ache imaginable if today was the last of the moments.

If today.

Tears slip as I think about this. Dear God, help me think about this. Let me snap a hundred of these moments with the lens of my heart to be stored and appreciated and thought of as the great treasure they are.

Let my mind park there.

Let my heart relish there.

Let my mouth dare to whisper what a joy this is. “I love you. I love us. I love this moment each day.”

No, our relationship isn’t perfect. No relationship is. We’re two very strong willed people with vastly different approaches to life. And oh how easy it would be to list out all the differences. He likes the towel hanging in the same spot. I am more creative. But I stop the list here.

I stop because great love isn’t two people finding the perfect match in one another.

Great love is two people making the choice to be a match.

A decision.

To fold his collar and snap the heart lens and find myself grateful to the point of tears.

Tears of relishing today are so much better than tears of what was missed.

It’s just a moment.

Or is it?

Thankful Reflection

This was a challenging week.  Joey is in his second week of work in Fort Worth out of six for the summer, and our best "Waco friends" officially moved to Dallas on Monday.  The two combined have made it feel like our life is in transition right now.  With one more year of school left, and the hardest year at that, I have spent a lot of time thinking, and sometimes worrying, about where we will end up and what God has in store for our lives. 

Joey and I are reading The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren together this summer while we are apart, and the thing I keep coming back to is God telling me that life is not on hold because I feel like we are in transition.  We are to live fully where ever we are and in whatever we are doing.  I am such a planner and think so often about the future that sometimes I get too concerned about what is to come and loose sight of being thankful for where I am now.  I like my ability to dream and think ahead, but sometimes I think Satan uses it to distract me from opportunities God is giving me now.  In the book there is a poem by Russell Kelfer that inspired me to focus on the sovereignty of God.

You are who you are for a reason.
You're part of an intricate plan.
You're a precious and perfect unique design,
Called God's special woman or man.

You look like you look for a reason.
Our God made no mistake.
He knit you together within the womb,
You're just what he wanted to make.

The parents you had were the ones he chose,
And no matter how you may feel,
They were custom-designed with God's plan in mind,
And they bear the Master's seal.

No, that trauma you faced was not easy.
And God wept that it hurt you so;
But it was allowed to shape your heart
So that into his likeness you'd grow.

You are who you are for a reason,
You've been formed by the Master's rod.
You are who you are, beloved,
Because there is a God.

So, in effort to focus on the purpose God has for me right here and now, I have challenged myself to focus on the things that remind me how blessed we are.  My goal is to just take it week by week- and sometimes day by day, and to be thankful for the little happy's that God gives me along the way.  It is easy to get overwhelmed with fear of the unknown.  So, in focusing on the little things that I can be thankful for right now, I plan to stay positive and hopefully not miss opportunities He is giving me now.


These are the things I am thankful for this week:
1. Time we got to spend in Brenham on vacation with Joey's mom and sister.
2. Joey took care of as many of the manly house chores that he normally handles as he could before he left on Sunday.
3. Shay Bear sent me an early birthday present in the mail with a sweet note of encouragement.
4. Mom texted and called to check on me a few times. :)  I felt loved.
5. Dancing with the Stars finals was on Monday and Tuesday and Hines & Kym won!
6. Season premier of the Bachelorette was on Monday night!
7. Text messages this week from Megan letting me know she already misses me and is excited about us visiting this weekend.
8. The book I'm reading right now, The Rainmaker by John Grisham, got really good!
9. A productive week at work and a job that I enjoy and challenges me to grow.
10. I got to spend a lot of time with Harley after work this week, and I am very thankful that she is part of our family.
11. This is a long weekend for Memorial Day.  I am leaving tonight to be in Dallas Friday through Monday to spend time with my hubby, grandparents, and friends!  Yay for long weekends! 

Hope your holiday weekend is filled with a chance to relax and spend time with family and friends!

Wedding Memories

Joey and I have said several times in the last year that we would love to do our wedding again. Not the planning and leading up to it- just the party. We had such an amazing time and made so many great memories getting married and celebrating with all of our closest friends and family. I mean how often do you have all those people that you love in the same room? It was such a cool thing! We are so grateful for all of the people that love and support us. We feel very blessed as we look back on that day and remember all the people that gave of time and resources to make our day special. So, as promised here are some pictures from our wedding a year ago! Sorry this post took me so long to get up... all our wedding pictures are on my computer that has been out of commission for a bit. It is back up and running though, so let's reminisce!
Photographs by Edward Charles Photography