Ode to Black Friday...

Yesterday was a wonderful day, but real early this morning...was even better.

I spent the day surrounded by family and fun. Dylan had to work last night, so I came home and finished our laundry and by the time he got off work we headed to WalMart to hit up the black Friday sales. AKA heaven in my world. {Just to clarify, black Friday is heaven. Not WalMart.}

I love love love black Friday. It's really truly my favorite day of the year.

.The crowds.

.The h i l a r i o u s people that take everything so seriously I literally laugh out loud watching them. It's like SNL right in front of your face. Classic.

.The people {mostly young women} that are clearly amateurs and get dolled up to go stand in the freaking freezing cold to get a few towels on sale. I mean, I'm all for a good deal, but please... leave the dangly earrings and lipstick at home. It doesn't speed up the line, or guarantee you anything.

.The women that are so die hard they will physically push carts or people right out of the way to get to where they want to go. Priceless.

But, most of all...
I love that it's our tradition. We do it every year. Last night for instance, I didn't need anything from WalMart, but was I going to skip black Friday? No way. Not this girl. Dylan walked out of there with two new games for his xbox, I got the Blindside for $5, and we got all three seasons of the Big Bang Theory for $30. Which is cheaper than if you were to just buy one season on any other day.

I get that it's crazy and some people don't like it, but I say if you've never done it- don't knock it. It's a darn good time, and most of the memories of the adventure will last you all year long. It's fantastic. :)



On a completely different note, we bought our Christmas tree today and it is set up ready to be decorated when Dylan gets off tonight. I can't hardly wait to see it all decorated, but even just right now, it looks & smells darn good if I do say so myself.

Happy Holiday weekend, hope yours was as successful as ours! :)

2010 Thankfuls...

I am thankful:
.for my handsome husband. I didn't have any idea growing up how good I would have it in the husband department. I think I won the lottery on this one. He's funny, charming, good looking, dependable, driven, devoted, he loves the Lord and he loves me :) ... I could go on and on, but my most thankful part about Dylan is that I have a partner to go through this crazy life with. I'm more grateful for him now than I ever knew I could be.
.for my amazing mom, who is also my best friend. I love her more and more each day.
.my wonderful family & my awesome in laws. :)
.for my brother and more specifically his health.
.that we live in Oklahoma again. duh.
.for Amarillo. It was our home for almost 8 months & will always hold a special place in my heart.
.for my iPhone. (ha! sad, but truthful.)
.for laughter.
.for a full time job that I love.
.for wonderful friends.
.for a cute brick home to call our own.
.for a sweet little doggy named Piper, who loves unconditionally. everyday.
.for my husband's job that he also loves.
.for three year old hugs. There's nothing like them, and I'm lucky enough to get at least 30 every single day.
.for this life I've been given.

This year has been extra special for me. It's been so full of ups and downs and turns and never ever has it been a constant. It's almost December, and I don't think we've been "settled" for even one week during 2010. It has been lots of moving and lots of tugging on my heart strings and I've felt emotions on every single level. Good and bad. But I am, and always will be thankful for the Lord bringing me through everything we've experienced. I am so unworthy of all of these blessings, and I know now more than ever in my life I couldn't do any of these things without Him.

Today we will be celebrating with my side of the family in the morning, and Dylan's side in the afternoon. I wasn't sure we would even be able to celebrate the holidays this year with our families, let alone in Oklahoma, but we do. I will always be thankful for that. :)

A day in iPhone pictures...

Today I've spent the day trying desperately to get our new life settled.
I am so in love with our home and am loving the wonderful space that we have that is ours and only ours.
I've ordered Christmas Cards.
Addressed them, and plan to mail them on Wednesday.
I've done more laundry than I probably have in the last 3 months. {sad, but so true}
I made my husband cinnamon rolls this morning for breakfast, before he left for work.


I took my mom to get a pedicure, to thank her for being so wonderful. I realize this doesn't begin to cover the things she has done for us, but who doesn't love a good pedicure?! And when I came home, guess who was waiting for me...



I cooked dinner for my husband, which he was able to come home for. I can tell I'm going to love that again.

I saw this out my window while I did my dishes.


All in all it was a beautiful day off. Definitely something I needed after the last few weeks.

And, guess who blogged twice in one week? This girl! Who knows, maybe I'll be back tomorrow with more! :)

This is the First Time...

I'm blogging from my new home!


I'm sitting in my living room with beautifully painted walls, wonderful hardwood floors, a gorgeous fireplace and each and every detail of our home was done with love. I'm thankful for more things that I can even begin to count this Thanksgiving. It makes my heart smile. I just feel so blessed.

Tonight I plan to accomplish laundry and start getting our home in order. It makes me so giddy to know that Dylan and I are making memories that will last our entire lives. Someday we'll be telling our grandchildren about out first house, and these are the moments I want to remember. That Piper loves her new home and I think more than anything, loves having her mommy and daddy's undivided attention. :) That our first grocery trip cost us $250 freaking dollars. That our washing machine started leaking out our garage and filled the entire garage floor, including our boxes. That our first night in our new house, we didn't have sheets due to the washing machine issue. But most importantly, that we've never been happier or more proud of our first big investment together. We would love a cardboard box, if that's what we could get, but knowing that this whole house is ours... it makes my heart swell. I love this life we've been given. I will never ever take these moments for granted.

Every good and perfect gift is from above.
James 1:17

House Updates!...

In the past week we have made the biggest investment of our lives.
In (the same) past week we have completely deteriorated just about everything about the home we now own.

We've sledged the floors...

And by "we" I mean, Dylan...

Had to rip up floors...

Removed appliances and had to rebuild cabinetry...

And now, the fun begins. Seeing all of these fugly things...

Turn to pretty things... I'll have more updates soon!