So Cute!

Two of my favorite people in one frame! I love this picture!! Hope you do too!

Six Years and Counting....

Dave and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary last Sunday, May 17! Although we haven't had a chance to watch our wedding video yet (hopefully sometime this week!), we remember the day like it was yesterday....most of the time. :) To celebrate our anniversary this year, we are treating ourselves to a marriage retreat in Austin at the end of May. We actually attended this same retreat before we were even engaged, so I'm sure it will look a little different now! My parents are watching Katelyn for us while we stay in a hotel, eat out, and best of all, are encouraged and refreshed in our marriage! We are really looking forward to it! I love you, Dave, and am so thankful that the Lord gave you to me as my husband!

Note: The picture above was actually taken last summer on our trip to Martha's Vineyard, but I thought it would be a good one for this post. :)

Happy Graduation Jessica!

My younger sister Jessica graduated from Texas State University last Friday, May 15 with her Masters and Certification in Elementary Education. She is going to be an awesome teacher!! Congratulations Jessica! I have always admired what a dedicated and hard worker you are! We are super proud of you!

Dad, Jess, Mom

Jess and her husband Evan

Our Little China Doll

We bought this outfit for Katelyn when we were living in China and before she was even born! It has been hanging in her room as a decoration, and one morning when Dave went to get her from bed, he noticed how much she was growing and decided to try the dress on her to see if it fit (or if she had already outgrown it!). It fit her perfectly! I was still in bed, so he brought her down in her outfit to see me, and I just about melted! It was so neat to finally see how cute the dress looked on her and how sweet she looked in it! I called the portrait studio that day to see how soon I could get her in for an appointment. Two days later, this picture was taken! She is 18 months old in this picture, and I would have posted it earlier, but we gave these as Mother's Day gifts to our moms, so I didn't want to ruin the surprise!

Exercise Can Be Fun!

Katelyn loves helping her daddy do push ups!

A Happy Mother's Day!

I had a great Mother's Day! Although I didn't get to see my own mom, I got to celebrate it with two moms I really admire--Dave's mom and his grandmother! Last year we spent Mother's Day weekend in Waco with them. This year they drove up and visited us! We all went to Outback Steakhouse and ate our fill on Saturday night, and the next morning we went to church together! It was a lot of fun! Dave/Katelyn got me a beautiful pink tulip plant and some Ghiradelli dark chocolate with raspberry filling...be still my heart! Dave also gave me the day "off" from some typical mommy duties...he made me lunch when I got home from teaching the two-year-old Sunday School class, he gave Katelyn a bath and got her ready for bed that night (we normally alternate nights, and he did it two nights in a row!!), and to top it all off, he agreed to rent and watch the ultimate chic flick, "Bride Wars," on Sunday night. Dave is also watching Katelyn this Friday night so I can go to our church's women's retreat. This will be my first night away from Katelyn! I get to stay the night in hotel (rooming with three of my friends from church!) and spend time hanging out and being refreshed with other women! Thank you Lord for blessing me with my husband!

On another note, I am so glad to report that my mom's chemo treatment last Thursday went great! Her next one is scheduled for Monday, June 1st. This will be her fifth treatment out of six, so she's almost done!! Thank you for your continued prayers! I am so thankful for my mom and the many things I continually learn from her! Mom-thanks for being so awesome!

Here are some pictures from our Mother's Day weekend! Enjoy!

Great Grandmother, Katelyn, and Granny

Granny and Katelyn (after Katelyn woke up from her nap)



"The Kiss"

Hello Haircut!

So Katelyn kindof had two first haircuts. While Dave was in Atlanta, I got a wild hair (actually, I got a hold of Katelyn's wild hair!), and decided to trim Katelyn's bangs. I have had such a hard time keeping them out of her face...I've tried clips, ponytail holders, you name it...they all fall out or she pulls them out! Now I'm no professional hair stylist, so I just did what I knew to do...cut straight across. They didn't look too bad, but they didn't look like a professional cut them either. It totally did the trick though! Mission accomplished.

Before the above episode, I had arranged for my friend Elly to come over and teach me how to cut Katelyn's hair. I should have just held out on cutting her bangs until then, but as I mentioned before, it was an impulse decision. Elly has two daughters (one is Katelyn's age), and she cuts their hair. "How hard could it be?" I thought. Well let me tell you, it's hard! After watching Elly for a few minutes and listening to her detailed instructions, I decided to give it a whirl. Two snips of the scissors later, Elly was doing her best to fix my work. She was so patient! Speaking of patient, Katelyn did great sitting still, and Elly's girls did great just entertaining each other and playing! As if the haircut wasn't enough, Elly also put Katelyn's hair in some cute pigtails before she left (she is super talented at styling hair too!). She left me with some fun ponytail holders and left Katelyn with a lollipop treat! I didn't take any pictures during the actual cutting process because I was entertaining Katelyn, but here is a cute one with her pigtails.

Mom Monday!

We had such a fun time with my mom last week..even if we only got to see her for a short time! She got to our house at 11 p.m on Thursday after speaking at a conference in Dallas, and she had to leave at 9:30 on Friday morning. She could have stayed for free at the conference hotel, but she still chose to stay at the McCurdy B&B! We felt so honored! When Katelyn woke up and Dave brought her downstairs, she saw Mamaw in bed (read: couch) and jumped right up next to her for a good story and snuggle time. Dave went and got donuts for breakfast, we made some coffee, and had a nice little visit.

My mom's next chemo treatment is this Thursday, May 7. Her and my dad are actually in New Orleans today and tomorrow for my mom to attend a work conference. They love making those into mini-vacations! My parents are so fun!

Tax Filing Fun!

So I have been a little behind in updating our blog, and even though the tax deadline is long gone, I had to include these fun pictures! Dave agreed to help his friend Kurt with his taxes this year, so we invited him over for dinner and then the tax filing fun began. Since it stays lighter later in the evenings, I suggested that they set up the laptop outside in an effort to make doing taxes a little more enjoyable! So they did! I even served them a candlelit dessert of chocolate chip cookies and coffee! So fun!