Another Anniversary?

Wow, the beginning of the year is full of wonderful memories and anniversaries. Valentine's Day was the 8th anniversary of our engagement at South Padre Island. It had been the weirdest of days and I definitely did not expect for Phillip to pop the question. Despite the bad experience at our restaurant of choice and the beach hidden in dense fog, it was one of the happiest nights of my life. My sweet loving husband continues to romance me . . . . . See what I mean?

On another note, I have taken up making invitations. My scrap booking expert friend Michelle helped me make my 30th birthday invitations and I really enjoyed the process. So, I made my sister-in-law's baby shower invitations for her scrapbook themed shower. Check them out. I bought a nursery themed book filled with different scrapbook paper, cut the pages in half and decorated the outside. It was so much fun.

Maybe you will be lucky enough to get one . . . . .

More anniversaries and other things.

We just completed a year since God provided this awesome house and I am still in awe at the huge blessing this has been in our lives. It's one of those things that is far more than we could've imagined. We have many plans and dreams for our home and in this past year we've only just begun to make those come true. The projects we've embarked scratch the surface of a long list of honey-do endeavors. I love a challenge and it has been really fun finding amazing deals on really cool stuff - Hey, just like our house.

One of our ventures included finding the perfect dining table. We'd searched and searched for months and months absolutely everywhere for a solid wood rustic set. Phillip would do the "corner test" involving trying to pick up the corner of the table. If he was able to pick it up he'd say it was not sturdy enough. So on we went. Mid way through our pursuit we came across something we really liked at the Dump. It passed Phillip's test and we liked the beautiful detail and color.

We thought we had found what we were looking for and almost purchased it. Since our debt execution was in full swing we were unable to buy at that time. Because of the quality of the furniture, it was a bit pricey and if you've ever been to the Dump you know that what you may find there one day will probably not be there on your next visit. We were a bit sad but hoped to be able to find one at a later date.

Okay, this is getting longer than I wanted so I'll cut to the chase. After looking for almost a year we happened to stumble into a really cool custom furniture place. We designed our very own 96" mahogany table and bench with a distressed rustic finish! So far, we are very satisfied with the service and prices at this place. We ended up paying less than we would've anywhere else. We know we got a very good deal and we did not have to settle. Our set will not be in for a few months since it is being hand made in Indonesia. I'll be able to officially recommend this company when we actually have the set in our home. So, here's the website to this really cool place for anybody interested http://www.infinitycustomfurniture.com/cat/index.php. Here's an excerpt I really liked from their site: "We are not furniture dealers, we are furniture designers! Many other furniture stores only offer hyped-up, expensive and bland mass produced disposable items. All they do is carry the same products in different locations, some at exorbitant prices. We don't compete with them, because we're so completely unlike any of those places. What we have is unique and unlike any other. What we have, is what we made."

Okay, I know what you are thinking - if it took us this long to find a dining set, how long will it take us to build the theater room, buy our bedroom furniture, install hardwood floors, build our deck, sod our 5,000 sq. ft. backyard, etc.? Well, it's gonna be a while but it'll be worth it.

On another note here's a pic of my beautiful pregnant sister-in-law. She is due in May and is having a baby girl.

This weekend I participated in a rock-n-bowl Junior Achievement Fundraiser in our district. We were the Rock-n-Rollers. Get it? Guitars for the Rock and hair rollers for the Rollers! Hee! Hee!

Seven Years of Love!

Yep, another anniversary. Do you remeber that chilly but very romantic January night Phillip and I got married? It was seven years ago . . . . man, we're old!

Notice how Phillip just loves the camera ;)

Of course we made our annual visit to our fave steak place "Taste of Texas." Friends joined us for the yummy evening. Here are the girls.

We had our private celebration on our actual anniversary a few days later . . . . .sorry, no pictures.

We celebrated New Year's Eve at "Libby D Ranch." We were firework popping fools in the 30 degree weather. It was a blast!

Happy New Year!

Holiday Recap

We spent Christmas in the Valley with family and friends. Here are my little brothers.

I had really wanted to sing Christmas carols and my wish came true when Sam brought out his guitar. It was really great singing with the ole family. A special treat was singing with a good friend and singing partner of 10 years Stephanie Martinez.

My sister-in-law received a few gifts for baby Staci Grace.

While in the Valley I had the great opportunity to hear "Redeemed" the IB Youth Band which Stephen and Jonathan are a part of. What talent!

The week ended with a super fun night out with the BSM girls.

Christmas Parties Galore

The celebration that took the cake was our date night on Friday. The boys pulled off a fantastic evening that began with a limo ride (red roses awaited us inside), a romantic dinner at Damian's and a hilarious play at the Alley Theater.

This was my first Christmas party at my wonderful new job! Here are the sweet ladies that I have the privilege of working with every day.

Here we are at our couples small group Annual Christmas PJ Fiesta.

It's our first party in our new place:)

The first Christmas party this year was held at Carlie and Eric's for our community small group.

It's Snowing!

Christmas Time is Here!

We bought our first real Christmas tree this year. I also tried my hand at crafting bows and wreaths and I was quite successful. Almost all our decorations are new and I had a great time shopping for bargains. We were supposed to host Christmas this year but there was a change of plans. So hopefully our neighbors and small group buddies will enjoy our cozy and heart warming home!

Notice the tree above the entry. It was sure scary up there.

Agradecimiento

2 Chronicles 16:9(a) For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.

This Thanksgiving I want to give thanks to the Lord for giving me much more than I deserve. He is my strength and my salvation! I pray that I will be evermore committed to him as the years go by.

We are so blessed to have our healthy families as well as our new home and most recently my wonderful new job. My heart is bursting with gratitude and I am humbled every day by God's love and grace. We want to continue to honor Him and be good stewards of his blessings.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Dress up for the LEUKEMIA and LYMPHOMA SOCIETY

Last night our dear friends Andrea and Justin hosted a costume party to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society! It was quite a success and we had lots of fun. If you would like to make a donation you can make checks payable to THE LEUKEMIA and LYMPHOMA SOCIETY and send to Andrea's Address:18826 Lantern Cove LaneTomball, TX 77375 or go to http://pages.teamintraining.org/txg/lstri09/ajenkins.

The belly is not a prop . . . .