The Stephens

Create an Easter wreath!

2011-04-12T10:10:00.000-07:00

Geo mesh is my new best friend! Its so fun to work with. I use it on tables, my mantel and now on wreaths. It can be hard to find. I had to order it but I did see it at Hobby Lobby recently in many different colors. I think I'll make a wreath for every season with this wonderful stuff!

If you'd like to see how I made it, keep reading. Otherwise this might bore you.

I started out with these items: Geo Mesh, ribbon, egg picks, a few stems of silk flowers, egg garland, wooden chick, wreath (not shown)

I bought a straw wreath because it was the cheapest option. You could also use a foam wreath. I wrapped the wreath with green tulle. Any kind of ribbon will do.

Make sure you have a bag of floral pins. These help the mesh keep the ribbon in tact. Use these to secure the mesh to the wreath as well.

Now its time to add the mesh. I started at the bottom and worked my way around. Secure the mesh to the wreath with a floral pin, then bunch it up a little and secure another pin (I left a few inches inbetween each pin, but it looks even better when you bunch them up right next to each other). Repeat all the way around.

This is the finshed product but this picture does not do it justice. I glued the ribbon and egg garland to the wreath first. Then I stuck in the flower stems and egg picks. Next I glued the cute little chick to the center and added the bow to the bottom to cover up where I cut my mesh.

What fun Easter projects have you created?

So big!

2011-04-07T13:17:00.000-07:00

Dean looks like such a big boy in this picture! He's playing with his pirate ship and I could just stare at his sweet little face for hours. I love these little moments and I'm trying to soak them all up.

Its Par-tee time!!

2011-04-04T11:09:00.001-07:00

For Dean's first birthday we channeled one of his daddy's favorite hobbies. Golf! Derek dreams of the day he can take Dean golfing in their matching sweater vests and argyle socks. I think the theme was very fitting for our little preppy golfer-in-the-making! We had lots of yummy food and thankfully the weather cooperated. The kids made visors outside with stickers and letters. They also enjoyed playing golf with the plastic clubs outside. I don't think we've ever had that many people in our house at one time. Thank you to everyone that came to celebrate our precious little one year old.

"For this child I have prayed." 1 Samuel 1:27

Dean,

We pray for you daily that you would grow up strong and healthy! We pray that you would know Jesus and follow him. We love watching you learn and grow and figure out new things. We are so proud of you and all of your accomplishments in just one year. You have given us the greatest joy in the world! We love you! God loves you! We are blessed.

Love, Mommy and Daddy

Derek made these invitations. He should go into business or something.

Sign for the front door

Mini cake for Dean

Bundt cake. Have you heard of Nothing Bundt Cakes? We love that place! Mom and I recreated it ourselves. Mom is very talented at making that icing look perfect!

Cake table

Golf themed centerpieces

Food table - I love this mesh stuff that I added to the table! Its super cool!

I used more mesh on the mantel. This is my new favorite thing! I'm making a wreath out of it too that I'll blog about. I painted the sign and made a banner of Dean's pictures from each month he was born.

Evan is sporting his visor.

I have no idea why Dean is crying. He sure got a lot of gifts! He's riding on the little four wheeler Uncle Ryan gave him.

There's that sweet smile!

Daddy and son

Loving all our books

Time for cake!

Love that sweet cake-covered face!

Our family! Happy Birthday Little D!!!

Dean is one!

2011-03-30T13:20:00.000-07:00

Last year at this time we had a one week old baby. Wow! We had no idea what we were doing but we were on top of the world! I remember being so tired but it didn't matter because we were holding our son. I remember not knowing how to swaddle, how to feed him, how to buckle the car seat, how to warm a bottle etc. I remember laughing so hard in the middle of the night when Dean wet all over our comforter. I remember being so quite when trying to sleep because Dean was still sleeping in our room. I remember waking up every 2 hours to feed him and watching all the infomercials at 2 and 3am and thinking several of the products actually sounded pretty good. I remember our first outing: Starbucks of course! I remember how cute Dean looked in his going home outfit and how excited we were to walk through the door as a family of three. What a wonderful year!

Happy Birthday precious Dean! We love you to pieces and we can't wait to see what this year has in store for you.

Goodbye Dear Friend

2011-03-08T07:42:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I was forced to end a relationship that had lasted fifteen years; a relationship that challenged and empowered me for so many years with unwavering dependability; a relationship that now lay in pieces.

I should have seen this coming years ago, but in many ways I chose to ignore the signs that were so apparent of wear and deterioration. We had been though both thick and thin so many times that I took for granted the effort and skill that it took from us both to work together to cut it.

In the end, perhaps it was my lack of nurture and care that led to this point, but I can’t ignore the blood, sweat, and the tears I shed over what has become. I have poured so much energy in to the life of our relationship over the years that was used up so quickly, and now rejected.

With what has transpired, I find it too difficult to repair what is broken and start again. The physical pains are just too unbearable.

Goodbye dear Craftsman Gold 6.0. You were the best lawnmower a boy could ever have.

-Derek

My loves

2011-02-14T11:38:00.000-08:00

On this Valentines day, I'm so excited to come home to these wonderful boys. My love tank is full. Loving these two boys is as easy as breathing. How did I get so lucky?!

Yes, that is Bieber on in the background. We like to dance to his music, I'm not ashamed (Derek - not so much, me and Dean - yes, we love the Biebs!).

Where is baby Jesus?

2011-01-12T11:25:00.000-08:00

A few weeks before Christmas, we gave Dean his first nativity set. Its the Little People version and he was obsessed with it. Dean likes to hide baby Jesus. He's always missing, I can find all the other little people except for the most important little baby. This sounds a little too familiar. I have been told that when daddy was little he would also hide baby Jesus. Coincidence?

Feeling very Merry!

2011-01-07T08:46:00.000-08:00

We have decided that Christmas is more fun with a child. Christmas has always been my favorite holiday but having Dean makes it much more merry!! All you momma's out there I'm sure would agree. D and I enjoyed being Santa this year eventhough little D isn't quite old enough to understand yet. He loved the paper and he loved all the boxes. One of his favorite toys is a remote that talks in english, spanish and french. Who knew we would learn along with him! Now our house is filled with toys that sing and talk all day long. I know most of the songs by heart now. Even with all these cool toys, Dean just wants to play with a water bottle and Roxy's gross chew toys.

Christmas Morning:

Cool foam blocks

Letters!

Taking a look at all my cool stuff before digging in!

My remote! I look so tired!

Christmas with the Stephens:

Daddy and me

Gigi and me

The cousins: Dean, Jackson, Emily

Baylor gear for Neil and Derek

Jackson and Dean playing

Christmas with the Reeds:

Sweet family

Derek and brother

Sister and her fur children and their bows

Dean smiling for the camera before we open gifts!

I love the bell!

Nana and Dean

8 Months!

2010-12-08T09:17:00.000-08:00

Dean turned 8 months old a couple of weeks ago. I can't believe that this time last year I was pregnant with him.

Dean is doing so many new and great things!
1. Crawling all over the place
2. Sitting up
3. Shaking his head
4. Wearing 9 month and 12 month clothes
5. Trying to pull up on everything
6. Talking a lot, sounds like he says "mama" but still unsure
7. Eating a lot. He loves sweet potatoes!
8. Gets really happy when he sees mommy and daddy after we've been gone
9. Laughs hard
10. Loves playing with "little people" toys
11. Cries when we leave the room
12. Loves playing in his saucer
13. Likes the jumper too
14. Cries when we sneeze/cough/vacuum
15. Getting more hair and still has those gorgeous long eye lashes
16. Weighs 19 lbs
17. Had his first virus last week, tear. :( He's doing better now. He had a fever, runny nose and cough.
18. Loves mommy's jewelry
19. Busy body...he can't sit still
20. Still has a hard time going to sleep at night. We rock for awhile
21. Loves to be held
22. Has 2 bottom teeth
23. Sat in a shopping cart and high chair in a restaurant for the first time

We are so thankful for our sweet little D. He brings so much joy to our lives and we can't imagine life without him. Our hearts are full this Christmas season. And we feel blessed beyond measure that God would chose us to take care of this precious boy. We have a wonderful God which makes me think of these words from Jeremy Camp's song:

What a wonderful Maker
What a wonderful Savior
How majestic Your whispers
And how humble Your love
With a strength like no other
And the heart of a Father
How majestic Your whispers
What a wonderful God

I will post more pictures once I find my camera. The below ones are from my phone...sorry they are so blurry.

Christmas wreath on a budget

2010-11-30T13:12:00.000-08:00

I have been searching for the perfect wreath. They are no where to be found! I've searched long and wide. My massive snowman wreath had to be retired last year...it was looking shabby. So off to my favorite store, Hobby Lobby!

Here is what I purchased:
1. 1 wreath - $8.99 (half off), so it turned out to be $4.50
2. Christmas balls - One set of white/red - $7.99 (half off), turned out to be $3.99
3. Used some of my own ornaments
4. Several beaded/floral picks (the sparkly things that stick out of wreaths/trees). I bought about 6 red and 6 white for a total of about $10, they were all half off too.
5. Ribbon - $5

Grand total: $23.49

I don't think you could buy a wreath for that cheap!! Our home is looking festive. I wonder what else I can make???

Little model

2010-11-18T10:29:00.000-08:00

Mom and sister took Dean shopping last week. Dean was the perfect model. He let them play dress up with him. I kept getting picture texts all day long while at work. Thank goodness for camera phones and texting! At least I can see what he's up to while I'm away.

What's your favorite hat?

I'm trying really hard...

2010-11-10T13:28:00.000-08:00

to crawl! I want to run after that silly Roxy. I laugh at her and try to steal her bones. One of these days I'm going to learn to crawl and she'll be so surprised!

My first Boo!

2010-11-03T13:34:00.000-07:00

Dean had a busy weekend showing off his monster costume. He was the cutest monster I've ever seen, but I'm not biased. We took him to my office for our annual Boo Bash. He flirted with the girls and hammed it up just in time for the photographer to snap the perfect picture of him!

My first homecoming

2010-10-27T12:59:00.000-07:00

Dean experienced his first homecoming last weekend. It sure was adventureous! We went to the parade, had lunch with the family and went to the game. When we arrived at the stadium, it started pouring down rain. Everyone was evacuated from the stands because of lightning. We were all standing squished together under the stadium. All the rain was blowing in and we were all getting soaked. Dean was crying the entire time. I think everyone felt sorry for me so they tried to help by covering him with ponchos, blankets, etc...Luckily my brother and sister and Derek's family were there to help too (Derek was working - lucky him. He stayed warm and dry inside with the recruits). It was definitely a memorable time. Don't think I'll be going to another game where thunderstorms are in the forecast. Poor little guy was so scared.

Our family

I loved the Parade!

Cousins

All the cousins and their kiddos

Yes, I did make the overalls for Dean and Jackson (cousin). It was quite easy. I just painted away on the denim. I like to free hand everything when I paint. I don't need stencils...that takes too long! Glad the boys were able to sport their cute outfits together!

6 months old!

2010-10-05T12:58:00.000-07:00

Happy half birthday to our little buddy! Dean turned 6 months on Sept 24, 2010. He is such a joy to be around. Little D is a little flirt and smiles at everyone. He's getting a lot of hair these days and its turning blonde. He has the longest eye lashes I've ever seen, girls will be jealous!

Dean is a long and lean little guy weighing in at: 16 lbs, 6 oz
Height: 27 inches

Here is what you are doing at 6 months:

-rolling over as soon as we put you down, both ways
-eating your feet
-grabbing at everything
-playing with toys
-loves the saucer
-likes to laugh at Roxy
-has tried green beans, squash and rice cereal
-so happy in the mornings
-starts to get upset if mommy/daddy leave your sight
-waking up at least once a night
-splashes like crazy in the bath
-talks all the time and blows raspberries
-sleeping on your side/tummy
-wiggling and wanting to move when you are held
-eating about 6 times a day

Mmmm...yummy green beans!

Little D

2010-08-04T13:11:00.000-07:00

I found my hands mommy and daddy!

That's so funny daddy, you are so silly!

Ellie the elephant is my buddie. I like to eat him.

I move all the time. Thats why most of the pictures of me are blurry.

I'm a rock star and mommy likes to put leg warmers on me in the middle of the summer. Silly mommy!

I like the pool!

I'm a cool dude.

Me and my daddy...we are buds!

Mommy and me

13 going on 30

2010-08-04T09:42:00.000-07:00

Ok, maybe not 13 but I know I don't look much older than 21 (love that movie by the way). I've even gotten carded for buying glue. Last Friday, I turned 30. Yep, you can check my drivers license if you don't believe me. I can barely believe it myself! I don't feel any different. I think having a child is what makes me feel older not the actual number. It used to bother me that I look younger but now I just embrace it! Maybe when I'm 50, I'll look like I'm 30!

I'd like to take a look back at the last 30 years. Below are my top 30 memories (its hard to think back but I'll try):

1. Beach vacations with my family as a little girl.
2. Slip in slide birthday parties.
3. Disney World - enough said.
4. Being Dorothy in my dance studio's version of Wizard of Oz in the 8th grade (yes I was a blonde dorothy). My sister danced with me in the Lion scene.
5. Going to upstate NY for Christmas. Enjoying time in the snow with my family and grandparents. There's nothing better than a white Christmas.
6. More dance, performing in the nutcracker as: a party girl, a mouse, a ballerina, a flower, a chinese dancer...
7. Meeting my best friends in middle school and high school.
8. Bringing home our first family pet when I was about 10. Chelsea we miss you!
9. Sharing everyday life with a spunky sister and a sports-lover brother. I love you Caroline and Ryan!
10. Indian Princess with my dad and dancing with him in one of my dance recitals.
11. Shopping and baking with my mom. Thanks mom for all the fresh baked cookies you had for us everyday after school!
12. Being on the drill team in high school. Dancing on the field during football half time. Making officer my Senior year.
13. Getting into Baylor. Sic'em!
14. Graduating high school. I still remember sitting inbetween 2 people I didn't know. Wow, we had a big graduating class.
15. Having my own apartment with friends and decorating it. Living in our dollhouse apartment with Katie, Caroline, Holly and Kendi.
16. Sorority memories with my friends. Parties, service projects, SING...
17. Sonic/Starbucks runs with Katie after class.
18. Living with Caroline in our tree house apartment the last year of college - were those squirrels or rats living in our walls?
19. Meeting my husband at Baylor!
20. Graduating college and staring at my diamond the whole time!
21. Getting engaged the night before graduation. I will never forget that special night infront of Waco Hall.
22. Getting my first job and paycheck.
23. Marrying my best friend and seeing his smiling face at the end of the aisle.
24. Welcoming our first puppy...Roxy you are a nut, but we love you!
25. Buying our first house and decorating it.
26. Finding our church and becoming part of a wonderful group there!
27. Getting Baptized.
28. Finding out we were pregnant.
29. Seeing my belly expand and feeling Dean kick.
30. Welcoming Dean Alexander in March 2010 and holding him for the first time.

It's a wonderful life! So here's to making 30 the newest 20!

Dean is 4 months!

2010-07-29T07:55:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Dean had his 4 month check up. He did great! Dr. said he is healthy and perfect. He also said he is very social and ahead in his motor skills. He was smiling and grabbing his feet the whole time the Dr. was checking him. He sure is a little wiggle worm and loves to talk!

Weight: 14 lbs, 3 oz (50th percentile)
Height: 26 1/4 (80th percentile)

We were told we can introduce the pool to him now. Yeah! Can't wait to see if he'll be a little fish!

I love this picture my brother took of Dean. He is such a handsome little guy!

2010-07-09T09:38:00.000-07:00

Derek here again. Back in blogosphere after many hard months of arduous soul searching, lamentation, and extreme grief-inducing deep introspective thought. No, not really. I’ve just been really into playing Angry Birds on my wife’s iphone. Oh, and I guess we had a baby too.

I have learned a great deal in the past four months of parenthood. More so than I ever thought, or wished to know – how to change a diaper, how to clean poop off of the floor, why poop can be so many different colors. I feel like at this point in my life I have been around more poo poo than Emmitt Smith in the early 2000s. Messy.

With my lovely wife being on maternity leave I have also learned all of the wonders of daytime TV (even though I work from home, of course, I never turn on the television to watch programs like “The Price is Right,” “Jeopardy,” or Macgyver reruns during my long and strenuous work days). In the past few months I have been introduced to the Bonnie Hunt Show, the Martha Stewart show, and a train-wreck called Hoda and Kathie Lee.

But perhaps the most interesting was a show that gave us a little nugget of musical kryptonite. To be honest, I don’t even know what this show is called, what it is about, or why it is on. But, this song has been stuck in my head for weeks (almost as bad as Chimpanzee Riding on a Segway from a couple of years ago...”bamp bamp a bamp bamp bamp”) Take a listen and see if you can’t get this insanity out of your head.

Please make it stop!

Photoshoot #2

2010-06-07T18:23:00.000-07:00

We are so lucky to have such talented friends! Another friend of mine from college took some fabulous pictures of Dean too. She came to our house and used our stuff for many of the backdrops. These pictures were actually taken when he was only 5 days old. Kristen you and your hubby are amazing!

Check out Kristen's website: http://www.kristenstewartphotography.com/

Photoshoot #1

2010-06-03T13:32:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine from high school/college took some wonderful pictures of our sweet little guy. Check her out! She is a fabulous photographer and the link to her site is: http://jessicagarzaphotography.com/index2.php?v=v2

Thanks Jess!

Showering Caroline!

2010-05-26T12:31:00.000-07:00

My dear friend, Caroline, is having a baby boy very soon! Mom and I along with another friend, Taylor, through C a shower. Even Dean was invited. He was the only boy. Pretty soon he won't want to be around just girls.

Hostesses

Dean chilling with Woody at the shower.

Caroline opening gifts.

Fishing theme diaper cake.

This coffee punch is so heavenly that I have to share the recipe:

Coffee Punch:

2 qts coffee cooled (we used decaf for the mommy-to-be)
2 cups milk
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
1 qt vanilla ice cream (we used more than that - taste to your liking)
1 cup whipping cream (whipped)

Combine coffee, milk, sugar and vanilla. Cool. When ready to serve,
add ice cream and whipping cream. Enjoy!

We had lots of yummy food. One of which was artichoke dip and I would like to share this oh so simple recipe too. It is always gone first and its so easy:

Artichoke dip:
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup Parmesan cheese (grated)
1 cup chopped artichoke hearts (canned)
We usually double this recipe.

Combine and bake at 425 until bubbly. Usually about 30 minutes. Thats it!!

We painted onesies. Can you guess which one I made?

Caroline and Darren - we are so thrilled for you! We can't wait to meet little Evan! God is so good to bless us both with sweet boys. They will be great friends!
Much Love!!

2 months old!

2010-05-26T12:15:00.000-07:00

Dean is 2 months old! We can't believe that time is going by so fast. Dean had his 2 month check up and he checked out perfect!
He's in the 50th percentile for both height and weight. Way to go bud!

Waiting for the doctor.

Little D loves to smile!

Life with a 7 week old

2010-05-12T19:59:00.000-07:00

Hi, we're still here! I'm a blog slacker. Its hard enough to find time to get on the computer but I also have a husband that works from home and hogs the computer all day long. At least I have an iphone and can check my email that way.

Dean is now 7 weeks old today. Wow! Time flies! Dean is more alert now and loves to move his little legs and arms. He is a wiggle worm, no wonder he was kicking and punching me so much while in my tummy. Dean loves to be held and really doesn't cry much. I'm learning what each cry means but that doesn't mean I know how to calm him everytime. We are still learning. He is still waking up several times a night so we are used to little sleep. Dean loves his gym, swing and bouncer. He also loves bath time! He makes the cutest little noises and has smiled many times unintentionally I think. We are still waiting on that first smile - melt my heart!

We finally brought Roxy home. She had been staying with her second family (aka my parents). She loves it so much over there that I didn't know if she even wanted to come home - my parents dog, Molly, and Roxy are best buds. We brought Dean over to meet Roxy several times before we brought her home. She was very curious and just ignored him the first few times. Now that she is at home with us, she is getting more and more curious every day. She started licking him today so thats a good sign!

Dean has been on several outings. We've gone to Starbucks, Target and TJ Maxx/homegoods of course. He usually does good in his carseat and stroller. This weekend Dean took his longest trip of his little life on Mothers day. We drove to Hillsboro to meet GiGi, GDaddy, Aunt Heather, Uncle Neil, Cousin Emily and Cousin Jackson. Then we drove to Nana and Papa's house to visit with them and Aunt Caroline and Uncle Ryan. He did so well! I'm such a proud mommy!

We have taken Dean to our ABF at church twice now. It was great to see everyone and feel normal again by getting out. Dean was a little loud both times. He grunts all the time when he has to go. Its a huge production every time and its so loud. So I took him out in the hallway so he could do his business although I think everyone in the class heard most of it. Ha! So sorry for the distraction during the prayer.

We are so blessed to be parents of this precious child! Dean, we love you so much! Stop growing so fast! We are taking in every moment of this amazing journey. God is great and worthy of Praise!

Aunt Heather and Cousin Jackson. Dean and Jackson will be great friends!

Mothers day

Dean dressed up for me on Mothers day.

One of our first walks.

Sleeping on Daddy.

Dean loves bath time!
Uncle Ryan getting some Dean time.

Roxy meets Dean for the first time.

Starbucks with Sister and Mom

Nana and Papa

Dean's arrival: March 24, 2010

2010-04-08T15:55:00.000-07:00

Hello strangers! Its been awhile since I've posted. We're just a little preoccupied these days! We are loving our little guy more than words can express. We are in awe of God's miracle and I'm loving my husband more and more for he gave me the most precious gift.

Things are going really well. We're so happy Dean is here and that he is healthy. I thought I would share our birth story. Mainly so I won't forget.

I went to my routine weekly doctor appointment on Tuesday, March 23. We had a sonogram that day since my blood pressure had been high. Doctor wanted to check to make sure baby was still ok. I had a non-stress test the week before and he was doing great. The sono showed that he was doing great too but one worrisome find was he was a little under weight. And my blood pressure was still high. I was 39 weeks at the time. Doctor said there was no reason to keep me pregnant and that we should go ahead and schedule an induction. We were a little surprised. I thought I had at least another week to go! We were scheduled to come back to the hospital at 8pm that night. I wasn't dilated at all so I was given the cervix ripening agent. After a sleepless night at the hospital (I was just so anxious about the arrival of Dean that I couldn't sleep and I was starting to feel contractions), I was given the pitocin at about 8am in the morning. We had a lovely nurse all day! She is actually a friend of ours that graciously came in to take care of us when I told her about the induction. She truly made the experience wonderful and made me feel so at ease. Lauren - I will never forget that you were a part of our special day!
My contractions started almost instantly coming almost on top of each other leaving no break between them to rest. So I was given the epidural at about 9:30am. The epidural surprising didn't hurt at all. Having my blood taken is way worse! Once I had the epidural I was feeling great! I started to progress very quickly. I got to a 5 around lunchtime and I was fully ready to start pushing at 2pm. Once I heard that it was time and that we would be meeting our precious son, my eyes filled up with tears. We were ready and so excited! I had really no idea how to push especially because I was completely numb but somehow I did it. I pushed for only 10 minutes and then finally Dean arrived! He weighed 7 pounds, 4 ounces and was 20.5 inches long. It was the most amazing feeling ever to see him for the first time! It was love at first sight. Derek was a trooper the whole time. I thought he might faint during the delivery but he made every effort not to look at anything. We spent some time with Dean alone and then welcomed both our families in the room to meet him.

Our experience was perfect! I was so worried about how it would turn out and once again God proved that there was no reason to doubt him. But more importantly, God provided the most beautiful son for us. He is perfect, I could stare at him all day long. We are excited to raise him and watch him grow. We are excited to have now joined the wonderful club known as "parenthood."

Thank you Lord for giving us this tiny little babe to take care of. Thank you for trusting us to provide, care and raise this child. We commit to put you first in our lives and to teach Dean about your everlasting love for us.

Our family

Us with our doctor

Our nurse, love you Lauren!

Nursery reveal

2010-03-18T17:01:00.000-07:00

Little Buckaroo's nursery is almost done. Here are the photos:

The crib, stars we painted and the canvas I painted

Close up of the canvas I painted

Display shelf - not quite finished

Our glider and window treatments I made and sister made the cow blanket

Changing station - Thanks Carol for Dean's flag sign!

Love my polka-dot lamp!

Another canvas I painted with the prayer I used to say every night before bed

Derek insisted that we display his treasured Chuck Norris signed photo. I got polka dots and he got Chuck.

We are so excited to use this room when Dean arrives! It could be anytime now, I can't believe it! We're due in 2 weeks. I wonder when little man's birthday will be? We are ready to meet him and we are ready to become parents.

Update and more showers

2010-03-14T16:21:00.000-07:00

I'm still on bed rest. Its actually been nice to rest and be waited on. I'm getting my morning/afternoon TV shows in and trying to catch up on some reading...ahem - pop culture gossip. If you have any suggestions of things to do while on bed rest, let me know! For those that do not know, I have had high blood pressure so I was told to stay home from work and rest. We had another sono last week and Dean was healthy and all results came back normal. I go in tomorrow for a non-stress test. Please keep us in your prayers.

Last weekend I had to great showers! I couldn't have chosen a better weekend to have 2 showers (while on bed rest)! But it took my mind off of things and was a wonderful time with family and friends!
My dear friends Caroline, Katie and Kristen and their mom's threw us a terrific cowboy themed shower on Saturday. I have the best friends a girl could ask for! Love you all!

On Sunday, our small group at church hosted a shower as well. It was so much fun! We love our small group and class at church. Thank you for showering us and making us feel so loved.

Lots of pictures ahead - I couldn't choose just a few so here are several.

100% chance of baby showers!!

2010-03-01T14:18:00.000-08:00

We have already been blessed with a few showers. First my lovely co-workers threw me a shower during work hours. Thanks ladies for all the goodies! You all are such great friends!

Thanks Jodi for the cute diaper cake!

Derek's work threw him a book shower. Such a great idea and now we have lots of books to read to Dean. Thank you to all of Derek's co-workers for making us feel so special!

This past weekend our dear friends, the Yorks, threw us a diaper party. We received diapers, wipes and lots of baby necessities. It was a wonderful celebration with family and close friends. Thanks Janet and Matt for being great hosts! The food was so yummy and that diaper cake was beautiful! We love you! I didn't get pictures of everyone because our camera died. Thanks to the Lufts for driving up for our shower! Can't wait to see you all this weekend!

Mom and Dad

Brother Ryan and girlfriend Elizabeth - we missed you sister C!

Pearces and Yorks

Isn't Caroline so cute? I look huge - Caroline is due exactly 3 months after me - so excited to have little buddies to play together!

Katie and baby Reagan - he is a doll! Reagan and Dean will be close in age too! So excited for all the play dates to come.

Ranger gear - I'm sure daddy and Dean will have lots of bonding time during all those Ranger games.

Thanks you all for our wonderful gifts! More showers to come, we are so blessed.

"I will bless those who bless you."
- Genesis 12:3

Chandeliers don't have to be girly!

2010-02-25T08:15:00.000-08:00

I have been on a mission to have a chandelier in the nursery. But Big D thought they were girly so I finally convinced him and he actually really loves the way it turned out. Don't doubt the designer! He just couldn't envision it. Now Big D wants to spend all his time in Little D's room. Last night we finished Little D's cute chandelier. We painted it red and I added little shades to the lights. I covered the shades with cow print fabric and glued ribbon to the edges to finish it off. I'm delighted with the end result. Big D even added a dimmer so we can have mood lighting, ha! We still have a few more projects to go. To be continued...

Update and a little nursery preview

2010-02-16T13:01:00.000-08:00

This morning we had a sono and doctor appointment. We were so excited to see little Dean again. My placenta was lying low, covering the cervix several weeks ago so she wanted to check on that. And thankfully it had moved and baby boy is doing perfect! She guesstimated he was almost 5 pounds. And our due date was moved from April 7th to April 1st. I hope he's not born on April Fool's day but I guess thats not up to me. We are so pleased and feel so blessed to have had such a wonderful pregnancy. How did we get so lucky when so many have a difficult time? I'm truly humbled by my experience. Now labor may be a different story - I'm trying not worry about it but its quickly approaching and I'm feeling my anxiety begin to set in.

Below is a picture of Dean's crib/bedding. My goal is to have his room complete in the next couple of weeks. So once its finished, I'll post more pictures.

Can dogs sense that a baby is on the way?

2010-02-04T14:00:00.001-08:00

For the past few weeks our little Roxy girl has been acting out. She's usually a very well trained dog. She even rings a bell when she needs to go outside to potty. Recently, this well trained dog that we knew is no longer there. She has been pooping and peeing all over the house! And the other night when we were working on Dean's nursery she went and hid under the dining room table. She wanted no part of it! Roxy has always been our little diva dog and her name definitely fits her sassy personality. We love her dearly but I'm afraid she's not going to be a happy camper come April. Do you think dogs can sense when a baby is on the way? Have you had a similar experience? Do you have any suggestions how we should introduce her to Dean?

Looking for a Doctor?

2010-01-29T06:54:00.001-08:00

Derek here: Well, this is about the creepiest thing that I have ever seen. If you want to see for yourself, its on page 21 of the latest issue of McKinney Living.

I love my chair!!

2010-01-26T09:25:00.000-08:00

Our glider came in last night! I'm envisioning many sleepless nights rocking our little angel to sleep. At least I can do it in style!

Little Buckaroo's nursery!

2010-01-25T09:28:00.000-08:00

We still have lots to do on little Dean's nursery. But at least we have all the big pieces. Crib, check, dresser/changing table, check, glider, check! Once we get the room painted, I'll post some pictures. Here are the fabrics I'm using for his bedding and around the room:

What do you think? I'm loving it!

Cowboy print - bumper

Red polka dot will be the bedskirt, and the stripe and cowprint are being used with the cowboy print on the bumper.

Have you heard?

2010-01-13T07:34:00.001-08:00

We chose a name for our sweet little boy! Its official! Drum roll please....

Dean Alexander Stephens

Explanation: Alexander is Derek's middle name and we wanted to keep that in the family. We have always liked the name Dean and its perfect because now father and son will have the same initials. Derek is so excited to call him "little D."

Only 3 more months!!

2010-01-07T12:23:00.000-08:00

Its been a long time since I posted. Mainly because I was on vacation for 2 weeks during Christmas and I don't get on the computer ever when I'm not at work. We had a fabulous Christmas with family and friends! I'm so sad its over! We planned to get a lot done with the nursery but that didn't happen. We have a plan for the nursery but nothing to show for just yet. Baby Stephens is doing really well! My appointments are going good and he's kicking up a storm! We're so excited to meet this little guy thats been camping out in my belly the last few months but we still have so much to do before he arrives. We are going to register very soon so please leave a comment if there is something that you couldn't live without or is a baby necessity! I need help!

Thanks Friends!

I'll leave you with a little photo of my growing belly. This was on Christmas day so I'm a bit bigger now.

And here Derek is posing with a decoration my family got for the little man's room - FYI: we are not long horn fans - this is a cow and we may have to Baylor it up! Can you guess what his nursery theme is?

Cookie time and a home tour!

2009-12-16T08:29:00.000-08:00

Warning - really long post ahead!

This past weekend, I hosted a cookie exchange party at my house for close family and friends. It was fabulous! We had over 20 people and about 25 different types of cookies. I couldn't have pulled it off without my great mom and sister Caroline. But I do have to say that Derek was especially helpful in getting the whole house cleaned! Thanks D! We worked all day on Friday baking and preparing. And we snuck a few projects in there too! As if I didn't have enough to do! Christmas just isn't the same without a few crafts!

Enjoy the many pictures from the party as well as a little Christmas tour of the Stephens home.

Mom and me preparing for the party.

The tablescape. We added cute little snowflake ornaments to the tablecloth to spice it up a bit!

This was a Martha Stewart craft that Caroline did. Trees are made out of paper and glitter.
This is my ribbon tree I made. It really is simple and turns out just adorable! I bought a foam cone from the craft store and many assorted ribbons. Then I cut the ribbons all the same size and folded each in half and glued the ends together. After that I hot glued each ribbon to the cone. Add a dazzling ornament at the top and you have a super fun whimsical tree!

Caroline made these cute little stirrers we used for the apple cider and coffee.

Plates for the yummy food
These are my whimsical snow women. They sure are tall compared to my swedish santa.

The Living room
Our mantle
Village display - no I did not make the church, only the houses on either side.
This is a great way to add some life to a wreath. Tie ornaments to the ends of ribbons and attach to a wreath.

We have two trees. This one is in our dinning room.
This is our dinning room where we were displaying all the cookies. But we had so many cookies that I had to start placing platters on the chairs!

I made this cute little frame and it sits on our hutch.
My hutch display.
Our tree in the living room.

Sisters Mom, me, Andrea and Jan
Mom, Aunt Melissa, Caroline Derek's mom - Linda, Emily, Heather - Derek's sister
My lovely co-workers, Jodi and Paige.
Me and Janet
Lauren and Britt
Once we plated the cookies we displayed them on the table and the chairs since we ran out of room. Everyone got to take home 2 huge plates of cookies. What a great turn out!

Miss Piper was such a sweet little guest!
Melissa won the best cookie prize - a cookie jar.

Sweet Caroline

Matt stopped by to show off little Mckenzie...what a doll!

Thanks to everyone that came to my party and brought cookies! I had so much fun seeing all of you and tasting your delicious cookies! Merry Christmas!!

Girl time!

2009-12-14T12:30:00.001-08:00

Last week my mom and I got together with our long time friends, Jan and Andrea. We enjoyed just hanging out at my parents house and playing with Andrea's daughter, Piper. She is the cutest little girl ever. Such a trendsetter thanks to her stylish mom! My mom made a fabulous dinner and we enjoyed our apple cider in our fancy glasses. Thanks mom!

Me, Piper and Andrea

Mom and Jan

Its so easy to create these fancy drinks. Take a lemon and squeeze it around the rim. Then dip your glass in green sugar/sprinkles. Add cranberries to your drink of choice. So festive!!

Let the Parties begin!

2009-12-14T11:40:00.000-08:00

We have begun the most wonderful time of the year! I love Christmas time. Eventhough its so busy I enjoy every minute of it. I love all the parties and food and fellowship! And especially celebrating our Savior's birth. Without him there would be no reason to celebrate. The weekend before last we traveled to Waco for our sweet niece's 5th birthday party. Such a fun time. She had her party at a gymnastics center and it was such a blast to watch all the kiddos run around and play on the trampolines and equipment. After the party Derek's sister, Heather, had all the family over for a yummy dinner and more cake. The next day we had our church ABF party. We wore our tacky Christmas sweaters and enjoyed food and of course all the funny outfits! Love all those couples in our class!
Here are some pictures from that weekend:

So sweet - Derek and Jackson

Emily loves her brother Jackson!

Such a ham!

Oh so cute! I wish you could see my huge santa earrings I'm wearing.

I'm dreaming of a White Christmas!

2009-12-02T08:41:00.000-08:00

We were so excited and surprised to wake up this morning to a winter wonderland! Beautiful! Eventhough I still had to drive to work the drive was so pretty with the big snow flurries falling down on the windshield. I love snow! Growing up, my family would celebrate Christmas in NY every other Christmas. My brother and sister and I would play in the snow all day long and make snowmen, snow angels and slide down Grandma's hill. Those are some of my fondest memories. I hope that we can take our children to NY to see the beautiful white snow covered rooftops. At least it sticks and stays around up there.

View of our backyard

Its a Boy!

2009-11-17T08:05:00.000-08:00

We are having a sweet little boy! We are super excited! We were so relieved after our appointment to find that our little buddy is healthy and doing great. I know that everyone thinks of me as only having a girl but I truly do feel honored to parent a little boy. I hear its a special bond! And hopefully one day I'll be able to buy pink sparkly outfits but for now we're sticking with all things blue. I have tons of ideas for this little guys nursery. I can't wait to start planning and decorating!

This is me at 19 weeks

Ryan's pumpkin

2009-11-03T09:59:00.000-08:00

Every year my brother, Ryan, carves a very intricate pumpkin. Its something we look forward to! He's so good at it so I have to brag on his pumpkin this year. Can you guess what it is?? Just to protect his manhood: my sister persuaded him to do this!

Boy or Girl???

2009-11-02T13:30:00.001-08:00

We have our exciting appointment a week from tomorrow. On November 10th we will find out if Baby Stephens is a little boy or little girl! We can't wait! What do you think? Make sure to vote!!

Our little nephew - Jackson

2009-10-29T13:07:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we met our sweet little nephew, Jackson Neil Luft! He is just precious and we are thrilled for Heather and Neil and big sister Emily!

Polka-dots and Bows

2009-10-09T09:09:00.000-07:00

I'm finally getting a little more energy back and have been able to do a few little projects around the house. I think I've added a bow or polka-dots to almost everything I can get my hands on! If we have a little boy, he will have polka-dots somewhere in his room. I just can't help myself, but he will not be a girly boy - I promise! Derek will not allow it!

Used some ribbon to dress up my glass jar

Derek painted this antique lamp black that was my grandmothers. Then I painted white polk-dots on the shade. I think its pretty cute! Old meets new. I love turning old things into something unexpected. You could probably find something like this at a garage sale and completely transform it.

This is my cute little lamp I found at Ross. I just added some polka-dot ribbon. Its in our updated bathroom. Still working on the bathroom. Will have another post on that!

I added the ribbon and the wooden pumpkin to my wreath. I just thought it needed something extra - Can you tell that I painted polk-dots on the pumpkin??

These are my favorite! I bought a package of assorted small pumpkins at Kroger. Then I added black polka-dots to the pumpkin with a paint pen. I also added little ribbons to the stem (hard to see). They look really cute on our mantel.

Thats all folks! Happy Fall Ya'll!

We're having a baby, my baby and me!

2009-09-24T07:57:00.000-07:00

We're so excited to finally announce this special news! Derek and I are so thrilled about this baby and the new life that God is shaping at this very moment. I always knew what a miracle pregnancy was but it wasn't until recently that I completely understood how truly amazing it is! To hear the heartbeat and to see the picture of our little one moving around on the ultrasound brings tears to my eyes. Seeing my husband tear up over the news that he's going to be a daddy is just so heartwarming. We could barely keep our eyes dry that first night we found out. It was the day after my birthday, July 31, and I just didn't think I was pregnant. But I took a test anyways and we were so surprised and excited! For our time had finally come!! God's timing is perfect and why I ever doubted that has completely humbled me.

The night we found out!

This is the frame I made for my parents/Derek's parents. They are so excited! This is the first grandchild on my side and the 3rd on Derek's side! There will be so much love for this little child!!!

My absoultely favorite show growing up was "I Love Lucy." I can't think of a better way to express how we are feeling right now than this video
(Brings tears to my eyes everytime!)

Much love to all!!

Going to the chapel!

2009-08-11T12:55:00.000-07:00

My dear friend, Kristen, is getting married in a couple of weeks. We threw her a shower this weekend at Wonderful World of Cooking...love that place!

Hostesses: Caroline's mom, Caroline, me, Susan, Holly, Holly's mom

Table setting

Fun cookies that Caroline and I iced the night before.

The Bride and me!

Its been busy at the Stephen's home with lots of showers and birthdays. Hopefully we'll have more projects to post soon too. To ta loo!

Legally Blonde

2009-07-29T14:29:00.000-07:00

Musicals are funny.

Where is this magical land where it is ok to sing out loud in public? Why is there always an orchestra ready to play? Where does the music come from (please don’t say “the heart”)? And, how does everyone always know all the words and dances to make it all fit together perfectly? If I start singing a song about how much I love my wife right now, will she start singing the same song at work? My head hurts.

Call me crazy, but where I come from we just talk about what’s on our minds. It’s a lot easier that way – but maybe not as cute.

Speaking of “cute,” Lauren and I were able to catch “Legally Blonde – The Musical,” last week at Fair Park. It was about as frou frou as expected, but still left me a little disappointed with the show’s songs.

The only one I can remember was the opening number called “Omigod You Guys,” which was clearly the audience favorite. Nothing says “adorable” more than breaking one of God’s commandments, am I right, or what? Soooooo cute.

Honestly, if you have seen the movie, you’ve seen the musical. Same story, some forgettable songs. C+

Next up, Mama Mia! Sitting this one out.

To the Theatre We Go

2009-07-21T10:19:00.001-07:00

Derek here again.

In a desperate attempt to culture ourselves, and experience artistic expression through theatre arts (yes, theatre with the “re” – it’s just classier that way), Lauren and I have been attending the wide array of Dallas Summer Musical productions at the Music Hall at Fair Park this summer.

Now, I am no stranger to the theatre. In fact, I enjoy a catchy song and dance number every now and then. Something that gets my toe tapping is just fine with me.

I have spent countless hours of my life immersed in the Lake Highlands High School Theater (not that classy) Department’s emotionally captivating renditions of “Hello Dolly,” “Some Like It Hot,” “Guy’s and Dolls,” and many others – mainly in support of my wonderful sister (by the way, thanks Heather for coming to those three baseball games of mine in the fifth grade). I even co-starred as Freddy the Farmhand, in the Lake Highlands Elementary production of “My Fair Lady Goes West” – now, who could forget that riveting performance.

So you can tell that I was open to the idea of attending and being a part of musical magic!

First up this summer was that old classic “Happy Days.” That’s right, the Fonz, Mr. C, and the rest of the gang were in full force and belting out the tunes in order to save Arnolds, which nothing short of a wresting match between Fonzie and the Malachi Brothers would do. Spoiler alert – Arnold’s is saved! I give this one a C+ for not being that good, but mildly humorous with references to Richie’s long lost brother Chuck, and Fonzie jumping the shark.

Next on the list was “The Wizard of Oz.” It was a great story and a great production. I can’t really say too much about this one except I was a little disappointed that they didn’t use real midgets, um, little people. They tricked us by using children. Oh well. I give it an A.

“Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” was another classic that honestly, I wasn’t too familiar with before attending. I knew it was a musical and it was about a flying car. What I didn’t know was how irritating the title song would be, even days later. “Oh you pretty Chitty Bang Bang - Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, We love you.” B+.

And then there was ‘A Chorus Line.” Oh boy. I wasn’t quite ready for this one. I knew I was in for something interesting even before the musical even began.

At the Music Hall they have a buffet dinner before the show in which theatre-goers can enjoy a meal that shares a theme with the musical. As I was filling my salad plate, I couldn’t help but notice a sign that indicated that I was partaking in the “T&A” salad bar. I was taken aback for a moment, but quickly realized in parenthesis it was noted that it stood for toasted almonds. Whew.

And then the show began. Meandering through a myriad of snaps, taps and painfully-looking toe-touches (by men), this plot got too deep too fast. Maybe it was that there wasn’t much to the set, just a few mirrors, or the fact that is was more of a monologue than a story that put me off. I don’t know. Maybe it was the fact that I was forced for two hours to listen to some dudes talk about how it was their childhood dream to dance. Yeah, that’s it. I give this a D for making me feel uncomfortable.

Next up - Legally Blonde. I’ll keep you posted.

Accessorizing on a budget

2009-07-13T09:31:00.000-07:00

Accessorizing your home is the icing on the cake! Its the cherry on your sundae! It doesn't have to be expensive to be beautiful!

This beautiful wicker hurricane from Crate and Barrel costs $69! I love it but I could never spend that much on a hurricane.

Now, check out my find from Ross for a grand total of $9.99!! Not exactly the same but gives me the same wicker feel.

I found these white chairs at Homegoods for $22. And the pillows for $3.99 each at Ross. I bought two chairs and two pillows for my dining room.

I love to find a great deal on accessories! What great deals have you found?

My hutch!

2009-07-08T14:33:00.000-07:00

I finally found a hutch for our dining area of the kitchen. This hutch was my aunts and she didn't want it anymore so she gave it to me! Thanks to my awesome hubby it got a fresh coat of black paint. Everything I've been painting lately has been black. Black is so modern yet so classic. Almost anything looks good black. I'm still looking for hardware to finish it off.
After the painting was finished, it was time to decorate and stage it.

Tip: When decorating a hutch or furniture piece, gather everything around your house you could use to decorate with. Set everything on a table and start creating! Many of the things on my hutch were serving pieces hidden in my kitchen cabinets. Pull out your beautiful wedding gifts and display them. Choose a color scheme. I orginally wanted my hutch all black and white. But I decided to add some silver and a splash of green. Create a focal point. My focal point here is the green platter on the middle shelf.

We still need to work on our bathroom. Could someone please tell my husband to stop working so much and help his lady out with another project! I'm sure thats why he's so busy all the time. Its just an excuse so he can get out of another idea I have!

Guest Bathroom Design

2009-06-23T09:52:00.000-07:00

Our guest bathroom is in desperate need of some TLC. Its stark white and really has no theme. This summer I have pled with my awesome hubby to help me with a small bathroom re-model. This is nothing crazy, only really requires paint and a few new accessories. Here is my inspiration board:

Hopefully, we'll start the painting soon!

Wedding Memories

2009-06-11T07:26:00.000-07:00

Four years ago today, June 11th 2005, I married my best friend. I'll always remember this wonderful day, it was perfect! Happy Anniversary sweetie, I love you!

Below are a few favorite moments from the big day:

Seeing my beautiful bridesmaids in their bright pink dresses! Gotta love it!

This one always makes me cry: me and my dad, enough said

Awww - great shot of D as I'm walking down the aisle

Ceremony - Prestonwood

This picture was right after I almost slipped and fell flat on my face! Luckily Derek caught me, the whole congregation gasped!

Arriving at the reception, looking down at all our guests!

Our first dance - "I'm gonna love you forever" by Randy Travis

Yummy Groom's cake - Baylor seal

Time to celebrate!! We're off to see the Wizard tonight at Fair Park!!! Can't wait!

Treating Your Windows

2009-06-08T08:45:00.001-07:00

Window treatments can dress up a room in a flash! You don't need to spend a lot of money to get a great look! And you don't need to know how to sew! Below are a few treatments that I've done on a budget.

I had these brown treatments (from TJ Maxx) but I didn't want them to hang from a rod. So we bought rosettes from Lowes and painted them a metallic bronze. Derek screwed them into the wall. I attached brown ribbon to the top back of the treatments so they could hang on the rosettes. Ta da!!

This treatment hangs in our bathroom. I found this great fabric and trim to match. I bought a roller shade from home depot. Make sure you measure your window before buying the shade. They will cut the shade to fit the exact size of your window. Then, cut the fabric the exact size of the shade and use spray adhesive on the shade and back side of fabric. Start on one end and carefully press fabric on shade. Add trim to bottom of shade using a glue gun. Ta da!

I had these red treatments but they were not long enough for me (picture is kind of dark but you get the idea). So I searched through all my old stuff and found some old beige/green colored treatments. I ripped them up, yes I ripped them! Its easier than cutting. And used my old treatments to add length to my red ones by simply gluing them together with my glue gun. Then I stole an idea from the nester - Love her!! I used her idea of hanging my treatments from upholstery tacks and drapery clips. This is so inexpensive compared to buying a rod. Ta da!

Closer picture of part of the window

Happy decorating!

My TJ Maxx experience

2009-05-27T09:13:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I ventured out to one of my favorite stores, TJ Maxx. I was with my mom and sister and her friend. As always, I found a perfect new accessory for my home. So after I paid for this beauty and started for the door, I was approached by four teenagers. They proceeded to ask me if they could pray over me. They told me they were part of a ministry that was traveling around the community and praying for strangers. I was wearing a bright yellow shirt and they said I stuck out to them because of the cheery color I was wearing. My first reaction was hesitant because I was completely taken back by this act of kindness and honestly a little uncomfortable. Then I thought about it and I couldn’t reject a fellow Christian or prayer for that matter. So these random guys prayed over me inside of TJ Maxx with tons of people watching (it was a Saturday afternoon, probably the busiest time of the week). I’m not going to lie, it was a little awkward and I would never have the guts to do this. But I was proud of these four guys for being such wonderful servants of our Lord Jesus. I was completely humbled by the experience. Has this ever happened to you or have you been on the other side and reached out to a complete stranger?

Thank you Jesus for revealing yourself to me this weekend. I pray that you would use me in the same way you are using these teenagers and I pray for you to bless their lives.

Fabulous makeover

2009-05-13T09:39:00.000-07:00

I found this furniture makeover on Better Homes and Gardens website. Now I just need to find a piece of furniture to do this to! I guess I need to find the time too, work gets in the way, don't you think?!

Before

After

I'm a nerd

2009-05-13T09:05:00.000-07:00

I love Miley Cyrus...I know, I'm such a nerd! I know that its no surprise to any of you that I love anything Disney related. So of course I'd love Miss Miley! I don't think I'll ever grow up totally and I'm ok with that (I did see her movie too and it was super cute if you like cheesy movies like me). I love to listen to her new song in the car and sing it out at the top of my lungs!! Love it! It makes me happy! I'm sitting at my desk at work, listening to the radio through my headphones. Her song comes on the radio and I can't help but sway back and forth. Click here for the video.

I have no idea why I posted that. I guess I just don't have anything exciting to say! Life is good though! Oh, I have been working on some more projects around the house. I'll post about that soon! And the blog is kind of under construction. I'm trying to be more creative with it.
Have a fabulous week everyone!

Home Shopping Network

2009-05-06T08:30:00.001-07:00

I've never been one to watch the home shopping network or QVC for that matter. But ever since I realized that Paula had a line, I'm hooked! I love Paula Abdul's jewelry she wears every night on Idol. Several of her pieces are sold out but I did purchase this super cute bracelet for my mom for mothers day:

Check out Tori Spelling's jewelry too! Love it!

Then and Now

2009-04-29T08:44:00.000-07:00

So, Lauren from The Neaves' tagged me a couple weeks ago to post a picture of when I was younger.

Here I am after a dance recital and thats my younger brother beside me. He was always dragged to my many recitals and competitions. Poor thing!

Here I am now (Disney World, August 2008):

Things that haven't changed:
1. I still love to dance
2. I still love to dress up, maybe not with feathers in my hair. But then again, feathers could be cute - I know Blair on Gossip Girl would wear feathers!
3. My hair is still blonde and I have bangs like I used too
4. I'm still the same girl that loves disney movies, loves dessert, loves to laugh and would rather stay at home with my hubby instead of a night on the town.

Now its your turn!

From Drab to Fab!!

2009-04-20T08:44:00.001-07:00

This past weekend, I was in the mood to redecorate. I really do feel sorry for my sweet husband. He puts up with my decorating obsession. Usually when he hears that I have an idea, he thinks money signs. But I can be thrifty! And this time I was! I'm always moving things around or finding some creative way to display something or another. I really think I have a sickness! I'm never satisfied! So, I was feeling sorry for my poor little kitchen. We don't have a hutch and I really think she deserves a hutch (before you start feeling too sorry for myself, I do have to add that I have a china cabinet in my dining room). I made my own version of a hutch with things that I already owned. I wonder what area of my house I can redecorate next?!

Kitchen before (from the fall, no I don't still have pumpkins sitting around)

Kitchen after (my shabby chic white display - the picture doesn't do it justice)

Also pictured in the above picture is a chandelier that Derek and I updated. Are you sick of the standard lighting that you have? Have no fear! With just a little paint, some sparkle and a handy husband you can turn something drab into something fab!

Before picture of our kitchen chandelier (ours only has 3 lights):

To update this light fixture, Derek took the light down from the ceiling. I threw away the glass globes. I sprayed the existing light fixture with a cream colored spray paint. Then, we rotated the arms upward. Just hang the light back up, add a few crystals (these I bought at Canton), add a few shades. And Ta da! You have a brand new chandelier! I know my ideas are not exquisite but they can turn something boring into something great if you don't have the money to buy that designer furniture piece or light fixture. I think this cost me about $20 total.

This is a terrible picture, but you get the idea.

Happy Decorating!!

Roxy and her best friend

2009-04-15T15:13:00.000-07:00

When Roxy is tired she cuddles up with her best friend, Gilbert (actually her favorite toy). What a sweetie!

New York City!

2009-04-09T14:04:00.000-07:00

Warning: lots of pictures ahead!

If you had told me a few weeks ago that we'd be going to NYC, I wouldn't have believed it. We were so blessed by this trip! God knew that we needed some away time and He provided! It still feels like a dream that we were there. It was so cool to see our Baylor Bears play in Madison Square Garden. What a treat! When Derek didn't have to work, we had time to see some sights and we walked everywhere! One of my favorite parts of our trip was touring Radio City Music Hall. I've always wanted to dance on that stage as a Rockette but I think this is as close as I'm going to get. We also were able to snag half price tickets to "Mamma Mia!" Awesome show! Since most of our evenings were dedicated to the Baylor games we didn't have much time for dining at nice restaurants. But we did manage to go to Serendipty for lunch. Such an adorable place! We also ate in Trump Tower and strolled down 5th Avenue. We stayed right in Times Square which was the perfect location. I am in love with this City! Enjoy the many pictures below!

After we arrived, we went straight to Rockefeller Center

Infront of Radio City

Waiting to send off the basketball team

On our way to the first game

Our view of the game, we had seats on the floor!

Derek infront of Dave Letterman with his coffee that he purchased from Ruppert around the corner

The Lobby of Radio City. One word: Gorgeous!

Inside the women's bathroom of Radio City. We toured the men's and the women's restroom - also gorgeous! The walls of the women's restroom were filled with paintings of the history of cosmetics.

Me and Derek with a Rockette

Infront of the cutest little restaurant ever! This inspires me to watch the movie again.

Look at that chandelier!

Our frozen hot chocolate, de-lish!!!!

Yummy cupcakes from Crumbs. Does anyone watch Celebrity Apprentice? The two cupcakes on the top row in the middle were from this seasons show.

Derek had to have his picture in front of NYSE

Beautiful Central Park

Mamma Mia!

This is as close as we got to the Statue of Liberty!

The final game

Derek and Knute

On our flight home, we had an over-the-top flight attendant. For some reason we were his favorite and he gave us this barf bag filled with goodies - we couldn't decided if this gesture was super duper sweet or kinda creepy?!

Easter Idea!

2009-04-08T13:19:00.000-07:00

I'm all about themed centerpieces! Here is a fun idea that I stole from Pottery Barn. Happy Easter!

NYC here we come!!!

2009-03-27T07:59:00.000-07:00

A couple of days ago Derek received a phone call about the possibility of going to NYC next week if the Baylor Bears won against Auburn last Tuesday night. After a very intense game, they won! Not only is this so exciting for Baylor but we are going to be there in-person for next week's game! We decided it would be a great opportunity for me to tag along and finally get to see NYC (and go to H&M of course, a store that I will probably do some serious damage at)! This is such an unexpected treat for us but we're a little overwelmed because its coming up quickly. If anyone has any suggestions of places to visit or eat, please comment! We need help!

Decorating with initials

2009-03-16T12:18:00.000-07:00

These days, I'm a little initial happy. There are so many fun projects to do using your initials. Here are a few of my projects:

This was really simple. I bought the letter and I already had the ribbon so I attached the ribbon and hung it on our front door.

Makes a cute statement, don't ya think?

I painted this clay pot. Now I just need to find a cute plant for it.

This is a huge letter S that I decoupauged awhile ago.

Let me know if you have a fun idea using initials! Happy decorating!!

Barbie

2009-03-12T12:49:00.000-07:00

Apparently Target has a special edition Barbie just for her 50th birthday. She is being sold at the 1959 price of $3!! I hear she is hard to find but I'm going to try. I think I'm going to stop by Target on my way home. Shhh...don't tell Derek, he doesn't understand my fascination with all things Barbie! I mean if we have a little girl someday I have to be prepared, right?!

Welcome to the World Makenzie!

2009-03-10T09:55:00.001-07:00

Our dear friends Janet and Matt welcomed their precious little girl into the world last Thursday. We rushed over to the hospital on Thursday evening to get our very first glimpse of sweet Makenzie! She is such a blessing! Congrats Janet and Matt! We love you all!

SING 2009!

2009-03-02T10:11:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful weekend in Waco. My sister, Caroline, was particpating this year in Sing for the first time with her sorority. Sing is an annual music and dance show that the sororities and fraternities participate in. Each club chooses an orginial theme and creates a 7 minute sing and dance act. They are then judged on their performance/singing/choreography/costumes/backdrop and the top 8 clubs advance to Pigskin in the fall. Sing is such a fun tradition at Baylor and one that Derek and I have so many fond memories of. While we were in Waco, we had lunch with Heather and Emily at Schmaltz (a Waco favorite)! Then it was off to Sing that evening. The show lasted about 5 hours but it was well worth it to see all the amazing broadway-style acts! Caroline watched me and Derek when we were in Sing and she always wanted to be apart of it. Now she is and I love that we can share in this wonderful tradition. Caroline did an amazing job and I was so proud of my little sis (I knew she would do great, she was born to be on stage)!

Here is a pic of her group on stage. Their theme was "Fly me to the Moon" and included a spaceship that appeared from above.

Caroline and me after the big show!

Derek paying tribute to his frat. They were not a part of sing this year so he left a remembrance of them on Caroline's table

In Caroline's kitchen

Thank you sissy for a fun weekend! We can't wait to see you dance in SING next year!

My obsession

2009-02-24T15:04:00.001-08:00

I am seriously obsessed with The Bachelor this season. I know its ridiculous but its so interesting to me. I am so obsessed that when I'm bored I get online and try to find spoilers. I usually go to abc.com and read the message boards. Some of the posts are interesting but most of them are just plain rude! I have come across a website that has some pretty interesting information about this season of The Bachelor. Has anyone heard of reality steve? He claims to know the outcome of this season and has some very juicy details. If you want to be spoiled go to www.realitysteve.com. I have no idea if any of what he states on his blog is true. If it is true, then this season is crazy!!

Every night...

2009-02-12T13:50:00.000-08:00

When we go to bed Roxy sleeps right next to me. Every morning when I get up, she moves and places herself right on top of Derek's back.

Valentines day decoration

2009-02-11T13:06:00.001-08:00

I made this cute centerpiece for Valentines day. It was super easy! Just put a smaller vase inside of a bigger vase. Fill the smaller vase with flowers and the outer vase with conversation hearts. I got the 2 vases at Walmart for $6 total!

Cute things!!

2009-02-05T14:33:00.001-08:00

Cute animal print Uggs!

I wish I had a place to wear this super cute outfit!

Green polka dot bedding from Pottery Barn

I love these bloom stacking rings from Juicy. So cute!

This makes me happy! I love Stila makeup and now they have a barbie collection. I think I need this.

Well, I guess thats enough wishing for the day!

The Suite Life of Derek

2009-01-22T12:53:00.000-08:00

Derek here again...

After reading the previous post by Lauren, I feel inclined to offer to you my abiding feelings toward another one of Lauren’s “favorite” shows. It is the most recent addition to her vast television show repertoire that already includes such hits as “90210,” “Ruby,” “The Bachelor,” and many, many more. Yes, it is the Disney Channel classic, “The Suite Life of Zack & Cody.”

This show grates on my nerves more than anyone could ever know, which I think is one of the underlying reasons why my precious wife loves it so much. For those of you who have the pleasure of not being familiar with this program, here is a brief synopsis from what I have gathered:

Two twin boys, with really bad haircuts, run amuck in the hotel in which they live. Their mother sings in the hotel lounge and leaves the actual child-rearing duties to very haughty, yet under-experienced hotel manager named Mr. Moseby. The boys, who are apparently unusually smart given their ability to conceive, produce and run various business ventures (as well as robots), are constantly scheming and usually find themselves in mischievous predicaments, but always learn a great and morally uplifting message in the end.

Perhaps I haven’t given this show as much of a chance as I should. Maybe I don’t understand the greater good and morality that this show is trying to promote. Maybe through the experiences and actions of these boys there is something to be cherished and loved….or not. I just don’t get that. See for yourself everyday at 7/6c on the Disney Channel!

The Bachelor

2009-01-20T14:19:00.000-08:00

I love watching The Bachelor. Ok, I said it. I love it! Do I agree with the way the show demoralizes dating, engagement, marriage...no! Why do I watch it?! I have no idea but I get excited every Monday evening to watch the current bachelor attempt to fall in love. I especially love this season. Jason is the first single father they've had on the show. I was heart broken when last season's bachelorette, Deanna, let him go. This season is particularly exciting because I actually know one of the girls trying to win his heart! I was seriously stunned a couple of weeks ago, when The Bachelor first aired, to find a long lost high school friend competing for his attention. Those of you that watch The Bachelor can probably guess who it is. She's the only one from Dallas that used to be a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader. She was actually my little sis on drill team back in high school! I haven't seen her in a long time but she looks gorgeous and I wish her the best! You go girl!!

I Am Second

2009-01-15T07:41:00.000-08:00

If you've been driving down the highways lately, you may have noticed billboards with the words: I Am Second. I decided to check out the website out of curiosity and found a very refreshing site dedicated to the testimonies of God's people. Take a look: http://www.iamsecond.com/

HGTV Dream Home 2009

2009-01-13T12:19:00.000-08:00

This years HGTV dream home is in Sonoma, California. It looks gorgeous! I'll be registering to win this every day until the sweepstakes end. You should too! Here is the link: http://www.hgtv.com/dream-home/index.html

Christmas fun!

2009-01-08T12:15:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Christmas! The month of December flew by! Here is a list of the top things we did during the Christmas season!

1. Davis Christmas party - The girls had fun baking and decorating our cottages while the guys played football

This is a picture of my little village. I made the two houses on the right and left but not the beautiful church.

2. Joshua Tree Christmas Party

3. Fun fill Baylor event at ICE!

4. Christmas party at Texas Stadium

5. Prestonwood Choir concert with special guest star John Tesh (Don't make fun of me, I love him!)

6. A lovely ice day that included many 90210 reruns and Falalala Lifetime. Lifetime became my go-to channel during the month of December - they played cheesy Christmas movies all the time!

7. Lots of shopping

8. Starbucks

9. Emily's 4th birthday party (our niece)! We went to Waco the Saturday before Christmas for the extravaganza!

10. More shopping with Mom and Caroline

11. Christmas Eve with my family and a wonderful meal with yummy creme puffs for desert! And of course we all opened our Christmas pjs!

Sissy and me with Dad

We stopped to take a photo while playing our traditional Christmas trivia game

Presents!

Mom and me with Molly and Roxy

12. Christmas day with Derek's family in Kaufman. We started off the day by watching little Emily find all of her fun toys from Santa.

13. Playing dress up with Emily. She loves to model and I love to style her!

14. Bedtime Stories - super cute family friendly flick!

15. Our traditional New Years Eve with the Pearce's - Yummy dinner and Wii!

16. To top off all of the festivites: Derek falls through the ceiling

Dear Lord,
Thank you for bringing your Son to die for us! May we remember to celebrate His birth throughout this entire year. Thank you for a wonderful time with family and friends this Christmas season. Thank you for protecting my precious husband during his fall.

Happy New Year!!

Derek's fall

2009-01-07T09:10:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to everyone! Its been awhile since we've posted. We had a wonderful Christmas vacation and I'll post more about that later. Last Saturday, we started packing up Christmas and while Derek was in the attic retrieving boxes for me he slipped and fell right through the ceiling! Not only did his foot break through but his entire body fell through right down to the cement floor in our garage. He actually hit our Explorer first which I think was good thing because it broke his fall. He has a lot bruises, some scrapes and soreness. We are so thankful that he didn't break any bones for it could have been a lot worse. I'm also very thankful that the hole is in the garage and not in our living room!

I'll be home for Christmas!

2008-12-11T09:58:00.000-08:00

It feels like Christmas at the Stephens house! We love Christmas and I love decorating for it. Here are a few photos of our decorations. What does your house look like for Christmas?

I had to post this pic of Roxy, I'm not sure she understands all these crazy decorations!

Our Mantle

The tree and such a great model standing next to it. The lighting in these pictures aren't great. I love the topper, its all red and white with pepermint sticks.

A close up shot of the mantle. I glittered the red trees. It was quite fun but very messy!

Here are a few of my favorite ornaments:

Mickey Mouse hat - from our trip to Disney World this summer

Derek's old ornament - isn't he cute?!

Gotta love Hello Kitty! Derek makes fun of me that I still like Hello Kitty but I don't care. The little girl inside of me just can't give her up!

We got this ornament in Hawaii on our honeymoon.

Have to have a Baylor ornament!

This is a swedish horse - means a lot to me but may not look that cute!

Gobble Gobble!

2008-12-04T12:41:00.001-08:00

We had a great Thanksgiving! We spent this year with my family at my parents house. My parents, Brother Ryan, Sister Caroline, Aunt Melissa, Uncle David, Cousins Chris and Katie and my Grandparents were all there. And of course the doggies: Molly, Roxy and Gracie! It was a wonderful feast! Thanks Mom, you have outdone yourself once again!

Cute little turkeys made from oreos and candy!

The tablescape

Caroline, Cousin Katie, me

Ryan, Derek and Cousin Chris

We went to the Dickens Christmas on Saturday night in downtown Mckinney with our wonderful friends, Janet and Matt.

Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas!! I'm so excited to celebrate and enjoy this wonderful time of year! I'm going to post my Christmas decor next. Happy decorating!

7 things

2008-11-26T07:34:00.000-08:00

So I've been tagged by Jenny! Here we go!

7 Things I Want To Do Before I Die...
1. Become a mommy
2. Start my own business
3. Become a better servant of the Lord
4. Visit Sweden
5. Attend the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
6. Take more risks
7. Learn how to decorate cakes

7 Things I Can Do...
1. Decorate! I love to decorate my house and create fun and inviting spaces.
2. Bake-I love using my pink kitchen-aid mixer!
3. Shop-I like to shop too much but I am good at finding a deal!
4. Love-I love my husband, my family and my friends more than they could ever know.
5. Paint/draw-I love to paint and sketch. I need to find time to do more of it!
6. Dance-I love to dance but I don't get the opportunity that often
7. Eat Mexican food every day! Yep, Derek and I are seriously addicted to chips and salsa and anything mexican related. When we go out to eat its always mexican.

7 Things I Can Not Do...
1. Sports-I'm challenged in this area, I don't like playing sports or watching sports.
2. Sing-I love to sing but I'm not good at it.
3. Eat sushi-I know I'm crazy but I just don't like it.
4. Rollercoasters or anything daring
5. Go a day without my makeup on
6. Be mean-I can't do it, I love to be happy!
7. Camping-not my thing

7 Things That Attracted Me to My Hubby...
1. His beautiful smile
2. His love for the Lord and his family
3. His preppy-ness
4. His kindness and genorisity
5. His chivalry
6. His sense of humor-he makes me laugh everyday.
7. His love for me

7 Things I Say Most Often...
1. Oh my goodness
2. Lovely
3. I love you
4. Derek!!!
5. De-lish (instead of delicious)
6. Fabulous
7. Do you want to go to Starbucks?

7 Celebrity Crushes... (aka - ones that I would love to meet)
1. Lucille Ball
2. Reese Witherspoon
3. Brad Paisley
4. Rascal Flatts
5. Patrick Dempsey
6. Jonas Brothers - ok I know what you are thinking...but I think they are so cute (maybe I could set one of them up with my sister!)
7. Betsy Johnson - love love love her designs and I would love to know what inspires her.

7 People I'm Tagging...
1. Katie H
2. Becca A
3. Britt D
4. Ashley F
5. Mandy M
6. Maren H
7. Carol B

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving! We have so much to be thankful for. Keep it fabulous!

Dear A&M: How to Cope

2008-11-20T10:24:00.000-08:00

Derek here again: Unfortunately I can not take credit for writing the following post, but thought it was too good to pass up. Enjoy...

Dear A&M:

I wanted to share some thoughts from the hit book "How to Handle Being The Worst Team in the Big XII South". This book, originally authored by fans of Baylor University, with foreword by Oklahoma State, has been a work in progress for 25 something years now.

Now that we have handed that prestigious torch off to your school, and it looks like it will stay that way for quite some time, you and your Aggie friends may want to really get into this material. Here are some highlights:

Chapter 1 - Bring up past records when discussing your program with friends. The best way to do this is to start from the present and go back through the past until you can find where you have more wins than "x" team. Inconsistencies in time frame does not matter - it can be 5 years for one team and 45 for another.

Chapter 3 - Find other parts of your athletic program that you can be proud of and meticulously learn and promote their accomplishments, no matter how embarrassing the sport. Baylor has done this recently with women's basketball, tennis, and most notably, track and field (Olympic gold medalist anyone?). Rumor has it that your men's club lacrosse team is pretty awesome. Just throwing that out there.

Chapter 5 - Find a couple of solid scapegoats and complain tirelessly about them. Your fan base has already advanced far in this area, with "Shermione" and "$Bill" taking the brunt of this effective relaxation technique.

Chapter 10 - Pick a team to hate and root for their failure. For Baylor fans, this has been you, and look how well it's worked! It's like The Secret - the power of positive thinking. It's very refreshing to change the channel from a frustrating loss and watch your sworn enemy fail. You may have to really dig deep here - you want a team that is average to pretty bad. You losing and them winning is a double whammy, so don't set your sites too high (UT/Tech). Arkansas is a good start, they're down this year.

Chapter 11 (THIS IS A BIG ONE) - Focus on moral victories. This chapter has a lot of content, so really pay attention to it. Within the umbrella of the moral victories chapter you'll find subsections such as: a) Don't pin your hopes on winning the game, pin your hopes on covering the spread. The spread is key, and beating the spread will bring you years and years of joy. b) Get excited about first downs. These may be harder to come by than you think, so really cherish them. c) Find remote stats that can highlight your improvement. Really dig into improvement. This should be a buzzword to use in the coming years.

Chapter 12 - Talk about the other redeeming qualities of your school. This is tricky, because it's actually really dorky to engage in academic smack talk, but, if done correctly, can deflect the focus of a conversation away from your school's crappy football program and onto other areas where the playing field is more level. Now, I'm tailor making this to A&M a little here, but I would recommend you focus on your strong engineering and business school reputation, and don't forget to bring up your various traditions! People never get tired of hearing about this.

Chapter 14** - Find another school to support on the side. This chapter is very controversial and was only added in later editions. I myself never went down this road, but several of my friends found a great deal of relaxation and comfort in finding a side school. While immediate family connections are the best (father graduated from Penn State or mom and dad met at Florida), it is also valid to dig deep into your family's history to find that great aunt that went to Alabama or that second cousin who got a masters at USC. The further away the school, the better. Claim that you have been watching them for years - especially as a little kid growing up. This helps ward off eye rolls and front-runner accusations from your friends. **Note: though highly successful, this chapter can be very dangerous, and is probably the only method that will incur hatred from fellow alumni and students. Use Chapter 14 at your own risk. Advanced students only. I'd say you'll be there en mass around 2013 - although seeing how your fan-base is bailing after 3 losing seasons out of the past 24, you may be there as early as 2010. Talk about advanced students!

That's it folks. I'll send you a copy for free - we're so excited to share this with a team not named Baylor. And you may read this and think: wow, Baylor is pathetic. This is really sad stuff. No, no! This is you! This WAS Baylor and now IS your school! I'm talking about what you and your fan base will be and have already started saying and doing.

I want to leave you with this. This can be your chance to practice, right now. Skim some of the material above, and go ahead and start using it on me. I would say the record route is the obvious way to go, but don't be afraid to be creative.

Sincerely,
Baylor

2008-11-16T21:35:00.000-08:00

Derek here:

This is great!

Twilight - one more week!!!

2008-11-14T11:32:00.000-08:00

I'm so excited for this movie! For those of you that are Twilight fans you'll really get a laugh out of the dialogue below from "Twilight: The Lost Script". I ran across this on msn and thought it was so funny! For more of this go to: http://movies.msn.com/movies/galleryfeature/lost-twilight-script/?GT1=28127

BELLA: So did you do the chemistry homework?

EDWARD: Like, 100 years ago.

BELLA: No, seriously. Quit making jokes about our age difference. I have to do my homework before I go home and cook my dad his dinner.

EDWARD: You are a magnificent flower and the sweet cherry atop my life's sundae. Marry me and your life will be distilled bliss, for I do not eat food that requires cooking, and I am rich enough that your chemistry grade matters not a whit.

BELLA: Um, let's not talk about what you eat.

EDWARD: Your wish is my command, fragrant blossom.

BELLA: I don't understand how you can say that. I'm just a plain, awkward girl who needs to strap herself to the commode so she doesn't fall off. Accident-prone is my middle name.

EDWARD: I will sneak into your bathroom and offer my steady, marble-like arms as your supports. No harm shall come to you, my pet.

BELLA: OK, but you have to be really quiet about it and stuff, because my dad is, like, the police chief and even though he can't cook his own dinner, he will totally OWN your undead badonkadonk if he catches you.

EDWARD: (Laughs) Did you just see that? I sprinted to the end of these mossy rocks and back in less time than you took to say badonkadonk.

BELLA: Kiss me unchastely, you sexy beast.

EDWARD: Let's do your chemistry first, and then we shall go for a ride in my Volvo.

BELLA: See? I am ugly. My vampire boyfriend doesn't even want to neck.

Another girlie post!

2008-11-13T14:13:00.000-08:00

This weekend was really busy but super fun! I had been working hard last week making stuff for the craft fair I was doing with my dear friend, Katie. I must admit that my hubby helped me paint, glue and glitter all week! What a trooper! Katie and I had a great time! Here is a picture of all the stuff:

Its hard to see everything in this picture. I made yard signs to personalize, cute little trees with lights and a few picture frames for all the little babies!

Katie sells Scentsy candles. Have you heard of them? Its a really great product and really safe because they are wickless. Check out her website: http://www.scentsy.com/katieherweck

After the craft fair it was off to Susan's wedding!
Congratulations Susan and Adam!!

The Happy Couple!

Kristi, me and Janet

Me and D

Me, Caroline and Kristen playing with sparklers

I was able to spend my whole weekend with my dearest and oldest friends! I love you girls and I wish we had more weekends like this!

Coolest Thing Ever...

2008-11-07T10:35:00.001-08:00

Derek's new ride:

Halloween and Baylor homecoming

2008-11-06T13:43:00.000-08:00

This past weekend we had fun in wonderful Waco! Since Derek works for Baylor he had to be there a couple of days early to help with the festivities. I came down on Friday and went shopping with my sis, Caroline, and trick or treating with our niece Emily. Then on Saturday we watched the parade, spent time with dear friends and went to the game. I miss you Baylor!

Sister Caroline and me at the parade

Caroline's sorority float won best in their class. This isn't the greatest picture of it but it was a toy theme. Very cute!

Our wonderful friends: Katie, Josh and sweet little Caleb

Caroline and I went trick or treating with my neice on Halloween. She was Ariel, the mermaid.

Isn't Roxy so cute in her princess costume? She hated it. And that's Molly (my parents dog) in the ladybug outfit which she also hated.

Before Lauren takes all of the credit...

2008-11-06T11:34:00.000-08:00

I must point out that I hung the "EAT" letters above the pantry. Nice, huh? Every time I walk in the kitchen it inspires me, so I do.

Fun with Glitter!

2008-11-05T09:02:00.000-08:00

I love crafts and I especially love to use glitter! Here are a few of the projects I completed last month.

I painted glitter swirls on this white craft pumpkin.

I carved our initial into this craft pumpkin and decoupaged it with leopard tissue paper.

These are real pumpkins that I glittered using Martha Stewarts line found at Michaels.

I decoupaged these letters with leopard tissue paper too! Can you tell I love leopard and glitter? Derek is such a good sport to allow all this girliness in his home.

I glittered candles using the same Martha Stewart glitter.
These projects are so fun and really make a statement! You should try it!

What if it all goes right!

2008-11-04T12:50:00.000-08:00

If you are a country fan you've probably heard this song by the newest winner of Nashville Star. I'm a sucker for songs like this! It has such a positive message. How many times do we automatically think something will go wrong so we don't even try? But what if it all goes right! This song brightened my day. I hope it does the same for you!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRbSUPWSdcE

Six years ago!

2008-10-20T08:14:00.002-07:00

Six years ago yesterday was my first date with Derek. I was a Senior at Baylor and he was a Junior. Yes, I fell for a younger man. A mutual friend introduced us. We knew who each other was because Derek was a big brother for my sorority but we had never officially met. And a couple of years before I worked with someone that knew Derek. She told me I should meet him and that we would be great together. I didn't think much of it at the time but low and behold God did bring us together afterall.

A few days after we initially met, I came home from class and realized I had a message waiting. It was a very nervous Derek asking me to go with him to the Dixie Chicks concert at the Fair (this was before all the Dixie Chicks drama happened). My roommates and I listened to the message over and over again because Derek spoke so fast I could barely understand him...he was so nervous, it was adorable! I think he knew I was in class so he could leave me a message thus putting the ball in my court to call him back. He denies this but I know thats the truth!

I did indeed call him back to accept. I bought a new outfit for the night and everything! We had a great time and I knew after that night that he was the guy for me. And soon after that night, I noticed Derek's precious Jessica Simpson photo on his night stand was mysteriously missing. That's when I knew he liked me too!

I leave you with Derek's favorite picture, the one that used to be framed and on his night stand as well as is the only picture on his Facebook page! But I'm not bitter.

The Fast

2008-10-17T09:06:00.000-07:00

Today is day number three of no Diet Coke/Diet Dr Pepper. I am not in good shape.
I have decided to give them up as a part of the 40 Days of Prayer in which our church is encouraging all members to partake. We are all supposed to “fast” from something that is significant to us and use that time to pray. I think it has been beneficial in a spiritual way, but physically, I feel like garbage. Probably a good reason why I should quit.

I think though I have negated the whole “fast” thing because I am drinking more coffee now. I am actually in a coffee shop, Saxby’s to be exact. I am drinking a medium coffee with vanilla…and blogging. What have I become???

Two White Girls, a Jamaican Man and a Drag Queen

2008-10-14T13:01:00.000-07:00

During lunch today, my co-worker Jodi, and I decided to go to Walmart in Irving to check out their Halloween decorations. As we are standing in the Halloween aisle in Walmart, this big Jamaican man walks by us laughing and says this:

Jamaican man: "That was the ugliest woman I've ever seen!"
Lauren says to Jodi: "What is he talking about?" I thought to myself, how rude? Who says that to a complete stranger.

He continued to laugh and look directly at the two of us as he was browsing down the same aisle. Then around the corner we see another huge man...I mean woman...I mean drag queen with a tight jean mini-skirt on and tons of makeup. Our eyes got so big and we looked at the Jamaican man and he just started laughing again and took off. As Jodi and I tried to collect ourselves, here comes the drag queen around the corner again! She/he was staring us down! So we quickly turned the other direction and left the aisle. Jodi and I were probably the most innocent looking girls in the entire store and this random Jamaican man must have wanted a good laugh. Well, he got it...we don't come in contact with many drag queens if you know what I mean (the shock on our face was priceless I'm sure).

Sonic-Sized

2008-10-14T11:48:00.000-07:00

I like Sonic. More specifically I like Diet Vanilla Dr Pepper from Sonic.

It has become the indispensable staple that allows me to forge on though the humdrum work days that are so often bound by the cold walls of monotony and despair (it’s really not that bad, I just thought that sounded poetic, or something).

Many people find their morning joy in a cup coffee, a frothy cappuccino, or say, an iced-venti-non-fat-eight-pump chai tea latte. Me, I am a simple man who gets his pleasure from such a simple, yet satisfying beverage that always keeps me longing for more.

Lately, however, I have been somewhat downtrodden by the experiences that I have encountered at America’s Drive-In. Like most Sonic goers, I frequent the chain for the beverages, not the gimmicky here-today-gone-tomorrow “treats” like deep fried mac and cheese bites, Cinnasnacks, fried apple-cinnamon bites, and fried cheesecake bites that all inevitably taste just like tater tots. Trust me, I have tried them all.

In the last few weeks I have found myself agitated when I make the trek to sonic at eight o’clock in the morning and the ordering procedure goes something like this:

Derek: “I would like a large Diet Dr Pepper with vanilla, please.”
Carhop: “Ok, a large Diet Dr. Pepper with vanilla is $1.83, is that all?”
Derek: “Yes, that’s all.”
Carhop: “Ok, I have a large Diet Dr Pepper with vanilla, would you like to try some mozzarella sticks what that this morning?”

I politely reply with a “no,” overcoming the temptation to angrily shout “No, I don’t want to try any mozzarella sticks, its eight o’clock in the morning. If I would have wanted them, I would have said so.”

This same conversation has happened more than once when the Carhop has asked if I wanted an extra-long chili cheese coney. Seriously, forget about it being morning, who goes to Sonic to get a drink and is that easily swayed into buying a foot-long hot dog smothered with chili and cheese. I guess some people do, but not me. Maybe some day I will change, but for now onward to Sonic…Happy Hour starts in ten minutes.

Random Facts

2008-10-10T11:41:00.001-07:00

So Becca tagged me to write 6 random facts about myself. I know I'm not that interesting but I'm going to try to think of some things that describe myself. So here are the directions:

Now, if you're tagged, here's what you do:
1. Post the rules on your blog
2. Write 6 random things about yourself
3. Tag 6 people
4. Please pass it on for fun...

1. I love chai tea. Yes, I'm actually very addicted to Starbucks. I like to order an iced non-fat venti chai tea latte with 8 pumps. Yes, 8 pumps...the more chai the better. I like to call it "Christmas in your mouth!" Try it, it really does taste like Christmas!

2. I have an interior design degree which I'm very proud of but I haven't had the chance yet to use it professionaly. My work is not a place that I get to be creative. I actually sit at a computer all day! I find myself doodling all the time because I just can't sit still!

3. Derek is the only guy I have ever dated, ever loved, ever kissed. I know this sounds corny, but I knew that the first guy I would date would be my hubby. It was way worth the wait. I love you D!

4. I have always wanted to be a Rockette!! I used to be very good at high kicking and I love wearing sparkly outfits! Oh and to be in the Macy's day parade, I would give anything for that!

5. I am the world's biggest worrier. I worry about everything! A month before our wedding, I got hives for a week and had to stay at home! Its something that I battle with all the time and pray about regularly.

6. I am so scared of heights and such a chicken!! In Disney World this past summer I waited in line with Derek and Heather and Neil (Derek's sister and her husband)to go on this new ride at Epcot called: Soarin. It looked really cool and they all talked me into doing it. I was told that it wasn't a roller coaster but a theater you sit in (kind of like the omni) that makes you feel like you are flying. Ok, so I thought "I can do this, I'll just close my eyes if I start feeling sick." Ok so we waited for an hour in line and right before we were about to go into the theater a video was shown. On the video, the man said that if you are afraid of heights or have any kind of motion sickness you should think twice about riding this. Well that made me very nervous but I decided to do it anyways, it was NOT a roller coaster so how bad could it be? Well, I walked in the room and boy did I flip out! It was a huge room with a huge screen. There were these lifts you sit in like hang gliders. They lift you up way above the ground and your feet dangle. So I sit down next to Derek and strap myself in...and that is when I chickened out once again!! I quickly unbuckled and darted for the door right before the ride started. After the ride was over Derek told me it was one of the best rides he'd ever been on but he was glad that I didn't stay because he knew I would have hated it! Ok that was really long and I guess you had to be there but I know we will laugh at this for a long time! But I will never be ashamed of my chicken-ness (I know that's not a word but I like to add "ness" onto words all the time!)

Those are my random facts. I'd love to hear about yours too! Thanks Becca, that was fun!

I'm going to tag:
Katie, Janet, Brittney and all the small group girls and anyone else that would like to give it a try!

Have a fabulous weekend!

Baylor love!

2008-10-07T12:25:00.000-07:00

This weekend we went to the Baylor game. We had lots of fun with Derek's family and my sister who is currently a sophmore. Sic'em Bears!

Our niece, Emily. She love's the Baylor games!

Me and sister and her bestie

Derek and me swinging on Caroline's porch

I made these cute rice crispy treat bouquets to bring to my sister and Derek's sister this weekend. But while transporting them in the car, they melted!! Isn't that tragic? So this is a picture before the they were a gooey melted mess. Note: Do not transport chocolate in the car on a sunny day!

New York pictures!

2008-09-30T08:00:00.000-07:00

Mom and me picking grapes!

Here we are in my cousins grape vineyard (uncle Len, aunt Carol, aunt Pris, cousin Cara). Its in Cara's backyard...the grapes were really yummy!

Front view of my parents house.

Mom and me

Dining area

Mom and me sitting in the dining room/kitchen (we arranged it as a sitting area until we get dining furniture)

Gorgeous view of the Lake from the back porch.

Me and Aunt Pris sitting on the porch.

Master bath - this used to be a closet.

Upstairs bath

New York

2008-09-26T07:27:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I traveled to upstate New York with my mom to visit family and to see my parents vacation home they have been remodeling. We stayed with my Aunt Pris and had a lot of fun girl time and lots of laughs! To give you a little background, both my parents are from Jamestown, NY (near Buffalo, very far from NYC). Random fact: Jamestown is Lucille Ball's hometown. There is a really cute museum you can tour. I love Lucy! Anyways, my mom's family still lives up there so we visit all the time (her sister, and 3 brothers and my many cousins). My parents recently bought my Grandparent's house and they have been remodeling it for awhile now. Its an abosultely beautiful property on Lake Chatauqua. They gutted the kitchen and opened it up, added new floors, painted everywhere, added a bathroom, built a new fireplace and much much more. I helped clean and arrange furniture while I was there. I was totally in my element, I just love decorating! Its not done yet but its getting there. My parents have put in so much time to make this place gorgeous and to keep it in the family. I have come to this house every other Christmas since I was a little girl. I have the fondest memories with my family and sweet grandparents there. Everytime we'd arrive, my Grandmother would have the best homemade pizza and a wonderful spread of desserts. She was quite the hostess. I miss her greatly. Eventhough she is gone, her memory will live on in this house. I know my grandparents would approve of all the renovations that have been made. Thanks mom and Pris for a really fun time! Love ya'll! I will post pictures soon.

I am Clean...

2008-09-23T07:18:00.001-07:00

and living on a farm next to Roger Waters. Who knew?

Monday Night Football!

2008-09-16T08:41:00.000-07:00

Last night I officially went to my first Cowboys game! This is a pretty big deal for me considering that I'm not really into football or any sports for that matter (those of you who know me would agree that I'm not sports savvy). You'd think after so many years of drill team in high school in which case they made us watch the game and going to ALL the Baylor games I would begin to get into it. Nope...I still don't enjoy football, I go simply for the social reasons. But the Cowboys game was actually pretty fun, I don't think I will go back anytime soon nor will I start watching football on a regular basis but I feel like I've made progress. Derek, aren't you proud? I actually felt guilty for going to the game without my sweet hubby since he is the real football fan and would have appreciated it so much more! My favorite part was watching the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders! But when they weren't dancing, I did actually see a few of the plays. And yes, I was on the lookout for Jessica but I never did find her. I guess seeing her boy, Tony, will do. Thanks to Bain for the experience (I actually went for a work event and I've been able to experience many other things because of work too- they really do know how to spoil their employees).
I hope everyone has a fabulous week and Go Cowboys!