Nick and Haley

A Year of Change

2011-12-28T13:14:00.001-06:00

Happy New Year from Rhode Island! Can you tell we've been busy? We haven't posted in months! Since 2012 is almost upon us, here is a recap of this past year. It was definitely a big one.

Life Changes:

- We got married on January 8th!

- In May, Nick graduated from MST. Hooray!

- In June, Nick was offered a job planting a campus ministry in Providence, RI.

- In November, got my first full time job as a residential caseworker!

Dwelling Places:

- At the beginning of the year, I lived in Texas, and Nick lived in Missouri.

- On January 8th, I moved to Rolla, Missouri, to live with my new husband!

- During the summer, Nick and I lived in Kansas City, Arlington, and Plano with family.

- In October, we moved to North Providence, Rhode Island! It was one of the scariest, most exciting things I have ever done. But we love it here and have made so many lovely friends.

Travels and Explorations:

- Early in the year, we visited Chicago for the first time. It was snowing, but still awesome!

- In March, we visited Disney World and Harry Potter World!

- In June, we took a road trip up to Providence. We visited Little Rock, Nashville, Washington DC, New York City, Providence, Boston, Niagara Falls, and Indianapolis during the trip.

- In August, we visited Denver for a few days, and then camped in Yellowstone with my Dad and brothers for a week.

This year has been absolutely amazing. I am so glad we traveled while we had the chance. This next year will be spent exploring New England and getting used to life in the Northeast. Please come visit!

Happy 2012, everyone!

Provision in Providence

2011-10-24T22:47:00.000-05:00

Howdy!

I am sitting here, waiting for the Rangers to end the top of the 9th so I can go to bed! Something that is definitely taking getting used to about living on the East Coast is the tv schedule. It's almost midnight here, and I'm sleepy! Nick went to bed over an hour ago. But alas, I had to stay up for my Rangers. I might be the only person in Rhode Island cheering for them! ha. That may be an exaggeration. But probably not.

Today was fairly slow... Nick went to Boston for a meeting with Sojourn, and I painted our coffee table! Pics to come later.

[BOOOOM. 2 outs. Epic. One more and I am going to bed and Texas is one game away from winning the World Series for the first time EVER!]

Anyway, I wish there was a way to write down everything we are experiencing here in Providence. But moving to a new place is difficult to describe! There is so much I could say. We are loving the people and the weather here. The only things I have really missed about home thus far, besides people, are the State Fair and the Ranger games. And then Baylor Homecoming is in two weeks, and I am so sad I am missing that.

Regardless, life in Lil Rhody is great! We really do love it here. We are still working on fundraising, though. So if you or anyone you know wants to help tell college students in New England about Jesus' love, we could definitely use your help! We are about $500/month from what we need to meet our budget. If we could find 50 people to give $10... one meal out to eat... 2 Starbucks coffees... a month, we would be set! We have so many friends and family who are giving sacrificially, and we are so grateful! And we are resting in God's provision. We know He will provide and praise Him for that. So please pray for us and this! And let us know if you or someone you know needs more information. You can also visit www.jensensinprovidence.wordpress.com.

Welp, it's over, Rangers win! Woot! Later, yall.

Hello from Rhode Island!

2011-10-18T22:11:00.000-05:00

Hello from Rhode Island! We are so so glad to finally be here. There will definitely be more updates as we get settled, but I wanted to fill yall in on the past week and a half.

We are starting to feel at home in our cozy apartment. Our furniture finally all fits and our pantry is full! Our walls are adorned with pictures of loved ones. We are definitely grateful for our new home!

The people at Northpointe have been incredible. We feel so welcomed. There is definitely a great community there that we are excited to become a part of.

Some snapshots of New England:

New England hot dog buns! So awesome!

I made this for a space under the bar, above the couch, out of paint chips and yarn.

Lincoln State Park is right by our apartment... less than 5 miles away! It is so pretty! There were so many people throughout the park, walking, mountain biking, rock climbing, and kayaking...

We visited the park so that Nick could do some rock climbing... I was more just moral support.

I will post more at another time. But I just wanted to update friends and family, and let you know that we are so grateful for yalls support. We are so excited to finally be out here and can't wait to share more!

Limbo

2011-09-17T01:18:00.000-05:00

1. Missing this guy a whole lot today. One and a half weeks, and we will be reunited and on our way to Providence! So exciting! I am definitely ready to get out of this "limbo" we have been living in since May.

2. Last week, I read the Hunger Games trilogy. Twice. I finished them the first time and just wasn't ready to let go, so I read them again. I noticed a lot more things, especially about the themes. I am a huge fan of these books, and would recommend them to ALMOST anyone... over the age of fifteen, that is. And I am SUPER stoked about the movie coming out in March.

3. After I finished those books, I read Ender's Game. I definitely enjoyed it, and will be reading the rest of the trilogy when I get money for the books, or a library card!

4. Now, I am reading Same Kind of Different as Me. I am almost done with it. I would also recommend this book to most people, although I can see that it would be a very difficult read for anyone who has lost a loved one, especially recently.

5. I started watching Switched At Birth tonight, because the first 10 episodes are all on Hulu... Well, let's be honest, it's an ABC Family show, which aren't the best quality. It's pretty unrealistic, and the parents of one of the girls are extremely annoying... BUT all of the ASL refreshes my vocab... I'll probably keep watching when I don't have anything else to do. I wasn't a huge fan of Vanessa Marano in Gilmore Girls, and am still not a huge fan now... but I LOVED Lucas Gabreel in HSM, especially the third one... that kid is talented. He needs to be on Broadway.

Anyway, that's really all I have for now. I have been feeling very uninspired recently. I need to get back to falling asleep at a normal time, instead of 3am. It's hard to fall asleep by yourself when you are used to someone being beside you. Even if they do steal the covers.

Summer 2011, in snapshots

2011-09-09T00:40:00.001-05:00

((For last summer's snapshots, click HERE.))

Weddings...

Exploration and travels...

Dressing up...

Rangers games...

4th of July...

Celebrations...

Harry Potter...

Projects lately: bows

2011-09-01T08:49:00.002-05:00

Since all of my paint/creating stuff is packed, I must find an outlet for creating in the sewing machine. So I have been making some hair accessories. Nothing fancy. Just using up some leftover fabric.

I made this cute little guy out of the leftover fabric we used for the tshirt quilt border.

This one, I made out of old tshirts. I'm a fan. Also, notice my hubby's handsome haircut. I did it myself.

Projects lately: Kindle case

2011-08-31T08:42:00.002-05:00

My lovely hubby and his parents got me a kindle for my birthday. I LOVE it. I am a huge fan of actual books, but having dozens of reading options on hand is so great, especially on long trips or during months of time where all your books are packed and you feel so sad without them.

Anyway, I needed a case, and I didn't want to pay some outrageous price for one. So the hubster and I decided to make one. Here it is:

Yep, we used an old book. Don't worry, it's an abridged version. Who wants those? Anyway, we found Anne of Green Gables for less than $3.00 at Half Price Books. It was a perfect size! Holler!

The hubster cut out most of the pages to fit around my kindle. He left it on creepy crying Anne. He thinks it's funny.

We made sure the bottom was left open for the volume, charger, etc. Then, I used homemade modge-podge and "painted" the inside and outside pages three times. It worked really well!

Then, Nick drilled holes in the right side of the back part of the case. He tied knots in the ends of a piece of elastic, and inserted the ends into the holes. When the case is open, the elastic is on the back cover. When I am done reading, I can pull the elastic over the cover to hold the top in place, as you can see in the first picture. Hooray!

SO, this Kindle case cost less than $5.00. SCORE.

baby brother

2011-08-31T08:06:00.000-05:00

So this is my baby brother, Clay. I call him Clayboy. And Claybers.

Claybers is an artist. And I thought I would exhibit some of my favorite drawings of his. You may remember that he drew us a picture to use with our wedding invitations. He also drew me an awesome gorilla face that I am going to frame and I am STOKED.

That is all. Thanks for drawing things for me, Claybee.

Projects lately: a clutch

2011-08-30T22:10:00.000-05:00

Last night, the hubster was flipping between The Italian Job and a coin show... Someone please help me stage an intervention. He told me that he dreamed about coins last night.

Anyway, around 11:30, I had this irresistible urge to sew. So, I went to the sewing room, cut out some fabric, and sewed myself a clutch!

Now, I am no seamstress. My sewing machine experience does not go much farther than a couple of quilts, seven bow ties for our wedding, and a few headbands/bows. I didn't measure anything, I just cut the fabric out. I am incapable of sewing in a straight line. If I did it again, I would do it a little differently, but overall, it turned out well, considering how sporadic this was.. I just love the old fabric and wanted to make something out of it. I had no idea what I would use it for while I was making it. But after, Nick suggested that I use it to store my Kindle when I want something small and soft, instead of my case.

Isn't the fabric just lovely?

Currently...

2011-08-30T12:40:00.000-05:00

I am currently:

reading:

Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

Acts and Proverbs

listening to:

Ben Rector- Into The Morning

Adele, over and over and over again.

The Middle East- "Blood"

making:

A kindle case...almost finished!

A clutch

Headbands

recording on tv:

Friends

Gilmore Girls

The Pioneer Woman

excited about:

Decorating our new apartment in a month

Moving to a new city/state/region in a month

Making chicken fried steak for my brother in a couple of days

Free queso and sopapillas at On The Border tonight!

praying for:

My Papa's speedy recovery

Providence!

Financial partners

An undying hunger for God's Word

My 4 siblings and their adventures at school in Denver, Abilene, and Plano

reading list (as of August 2011)

2011-08-30T08:35:00.000-05:00

So, at the beginning of the year, I made a goal to read twenty books this year. Here is a list of books that I have finished, started, and wish to start since January.

Finished:
1. Radical, David Platt
2. Little House in the Big Woods, Laura Ingalls Wilder
3. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, JK Rowling
4. Adopted for Life, Russell Moore
5. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte
6. Northanger Abbey, Jane Austen
7. Black Beauty, Anna Sewell
8. Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte
9. The Magician's Nephew, CS Lewis
10. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis
11. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen

Started:
12. Celebration of Discipline, Richard Foster
13. Mere Christianity, CS Lewis
14. Spiritual Leadership, Oswald Sanders
15. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, JK Rowling
16. Mansfield Park, Jane Austen

Want to read:
17. Forgotten God, Francis Chan
18. Wild Goose Chase, Mark Batterson
19. The Help, Katheryn Stockett
20, 21, 22. The Hunger Games trilogy, Suzanne Collins
23. Generous Justice, Timothy Keller

That's all for now! Have any suggestions? Did you love any of these books?

Flashback

2011-08-29T22:27:00.000-05:00

Toothless, hanging out in front of Old Faithful, wearing a hat made out of towel fabric. Was that in style then?

My brother, sporting an awesome train hat. And myself, wearing a Kelly's Kids dress. Bonus fact: I still sit with my toes like that.

My brother, showing some skin in some sweet sweats. My sister, Baylor proud with an AWESOME hat. And me.

And this.

Friday Favorites

2011-08-26T14:18:00.000-05:00

Well hello! Sorry it has been a while. This week has been crazy. Curve balls all over the place! After I mention my favorites for this week, I will share an update on the Jensen fam.

Favorite Christmas Idea: Stockings made from burlap

(Both photos found at HGTV dot com)

Nick and I got married 2 weeks after Christmas, so this year will be our first Christmas as married people! Hooray! I realize that Christmas is a few months away, but it's never too early to start thinking about decorations! I love this idea and could easily sew some for our new home. Plus Nick likes them too, which is always a plus. :)

Favorite Workout

Pinterest is so wonderful. This workout popped up on my feed, and Nick and I did it yesterday. Minus the 10 minute run, because I don't have running shoes with me here in Texas. So he rode the stationary bike and I walked on the tredmill in TOMS. ha.

(From 117lbs dot tumblr dot com)

This morning, both Nick and I were pretttty sore. Mind you, I haven't sufficiently worked out in quite a while, besides hiking in Yellowstone. Anyway, I am a fan.

Favorite Free Sleeperstar/Jillian Edwards Concert

I am so so excited about this. If you have never heard of Jillian Edwards, please click on her name and check out her lovely music. She was a year behind me at Baylor, and would lead worship at UBC when dc*b was on tour. She is absolutely precious and I love her music.

On September 9th, Sleeperstar is having a fan appreciation concert at House of Blues Dallas, and Jillian will be there. If you order tickets HERE before September 5th, you can get as many as you want for FREE. Holler!

And now, a short update:

We were supposed to be in Missouri at this time, and moving to Providence on September 30th. However, the apartment we thought we would be living in became unavailable to us, and we found out 2 days before we needed to leave for Missouri. As you might already know, during this time of transition, we have been living with my grandparents in the DFW. Last week, my Papa fell and broke his femur near the hip. He had to have surgery and is now at a rehab hospital. He is doing GREAT. However, Nick and I felt very uneasy about leaving my grandparents during this time. We were still planning on moving, and then the apartment fell through. The lofts had another apartment available, but it would be over $200 more a month, which is not in our budget. So, we decided put a hold on a cheaper apartment with a move in date for the beginning of October and stay and help my grandparents for the next month. We have been trusting in God's timing with those whole thing. His timing has definitely been a comfort over the past couple of days with news of the hurricane heading toward the Northeast. Rhode Island is preparing for an emergency, and I am grateful we will not be moving in the middle of a tropical storm.

So, a summary: We will be in Texas for another month... God is good... Pray for my Papa and his recovery.

Back from camping!

2011-08-20T12:55:00.000-05:00

Hello from Texas!

We are finally back and adjusted from our trip to Denver and Yellowstone. It was pretty amazing to experience cooler weather for a week and a half. I think I went into shock yesterday standing outside in the 106 degree heat.

We spent four days in Denver before meeting my dad and brothers and driving up to Wyoming. We got to explore the city, and toured both the US Mint and the capitol. Nick has started collecting coins and was thrilled to see the mint.

When my dad and brothers got to Denver, we helped Aaron set up his new, little apartment. It's quite quaint. He starts school on Monday. Eek.

Then, we headed up to Yellowstone. We hiked, fished, explored, and had plenty of roasted marshmallows. I am pretty sure we saw every single bison in the park. Plus a ton of elk, a few deer, and five or six bears. Black bears are my favorite, naturally.

Then, after driving back to Denver, leaving my brother there, and driving all day to Texas, we made it to DFW at one in the morning on my birthday. Good thing I got to sleep in a bit! Still having trouble admitting I'm 23.

Coming up:
- Dinner tonight with friends for my birthday! So excited.
- Hopefully moving to Prov in 10 days! We still need financial partners as we plant a college ministry. Click HERE for more info.

Friday Favorites

2011-08-05T12:11:00.000-05:00

Blog

Yellow Songbird is written by Kim, a fellow Texan who is living in Colorado with her husband. I love her blog because she is honest and creative. We also share many friends, which makes me feel somewhat connected to her in a way. And, just one more connection: She and her hubby are living in Colorado planting a church, and since my hubby and I will soon be living out of state planting a college ministry and partnering with a church plant, I feel like that is a pretty huge similarity. She has a cute shop, Oh, Sweet Joy. You should check it out.

Shop

I first heard about Sseko Designs because Cameron, one of my fellow Baby Ruths, has been living in Uganda working for them. Cam and I haven't talked in a while, but I am a stalker and found out somehow. Ha. I don't have my own pair yet, but hopefully that will be remedied soon! They are so cute and I love how you can tie the straps so many different ways. I also love that Sseko helps young women from Uganda continue their educations by giving them employment.

Memory

Since we are in a time of transition and life change, I think I have been doing a lot of remembering. Obviously, I have a lot of favorite memories, but I will just share one today. It was spring of 2009, and I was sitting in a Waco police car, participating in a required ride along for my Forensic Psychology class. I was absolutely terrified, because this was in the middle of my depression/anxiety semester, and, in the same class that this was required for, we learned that police officers have higher percentages of domestic violence, rape, etc., because of the stress of their jobs. So I am just sitting in this cop car, driving through the ghetto of Waco with a strange police officer, dwelling on what we had been learning in class. And then my phone starts ringing and ringing and ringing. It's Allison, but I can't answer it. She keeps calling and texting and I am freaking out because I think something terrible has happened. Finally, I am able to call her back. Our lovely friend Lindsey was getting engaged the next day and Lacey, Abbey, and I had to rush to College Station to be there for it! It was a pretty epic adventure. The following pictures are from the engagement. Now, Lindsey and Stephen live in Tennessee and have a beautiful baby girl, Abi. I am so grateful we got to be there for the beginning of their story.

yellow.

2011-08-04T16:23:00.001-05:00

I made this headband a while ago. My dearest, darlingest Lacey told me how to make them. And now I shall tell you. It's super easy. Take an old t-shirt and cut off the bottom hem. Then, tie a knot in the very middle, so you have two similar sized circles with a knot in the middle. And then, put it on your head.

I got a new wallet yesterday. I love it. It's thin and yellow. And yes I keep my Baylor ID in front of my driver's license. Maybe I have a little trouble moving on. The best part is that it was $4.99 from Target! holler!

Cooler weather ahead!

2011-08-04T12:06:00.001-05:00

In a couple of days, Nick and I will be heading to Denver to meet up with my family.

My brother is moving there to go to school! Then, on Wednesday, we are all going to drive up and spend a week camping and exploring Yellowstone.

The high is supposed to be in the 60s when we are there. Hellooo jackets and longsleeve shirts! I am super excited about this next adventure.

But of course, all good things must come to an end. After that, we will drive back down to Texas for a week, and endure the hot weather, and then back up to Missouri for a little while. But... hopefully...

We will be moving to Providence that weekend!!! Hoooooray! That is, if we are fully funded. So, if you haven't yet, check out our website and see how you can help us make the move to Providence and plant a college ministry. We would love to have you as a financial and/or prayer partner!

That is all for now. The hubster just got back from golfing in the rain, and I must get back to important things like reading Northanger Abbey on my kindle and pretending like I have an English accent.

The wedding: Accessories

2011-08-01T08:17:00.007-05:00

Nick and I made pretty much every accessory involved in the wedding. Not only was it cheaper for us to do so, it added personality! Plus, I love creating things!

A quick note: We didn't use any real flowers in the wedding. I think flowers, especially used during weddings, are beautiful. But they are also very expensive. And then they die. I wanted to do something unique without using real flowers since they die after a couple of days. And I also didn't want to use fake flowers, just because I don't like how that looks.

Bouquets:

A lot of internet browsing led me to the idea of button bouquets. I tossed around the idea of doing just orange and pink, since those were my wedding colors. I also entertained the idea of using felt to create bigger flowers and leaves. But after a lot of research, I decided to stick with an assortment of different colored buttons. Nick and I spent a few hours stacking the buttons, inserting the flower wire, and wrapping the wire tight around its stem. We probably had over 200 button flowers. I wrapped each bouquet together with the green bouquet tape. Then, for mine, I wrapped the stems with material left over from my mom's wedding dress. For my bridesmaids, I wrapped and glued either orange or pink fabric around each set of stems. I wish the bouquets could have been bigger. I really didn't want my bridesmaids to feel silly carrying such a small bouquet. But crafting together each one took so much effort, and I still had a lot of other things to take care of, so there had to be fewer flowers.

For the tossing bouquet, I had to think of something different. Obviously I couldn't toss a bouquet of buttons, that would totally take someone's eye out! So, I crafted a bouquet out of yarn ball flowers. I used these same flowers for decoration (another post for another day). I just made a ton of little yarn balls, and stuck the flower wire in them with a little hot glue. And then I glued the yarn balls together at the top and wrapped some of the leftover tulle from my dress around the stems. I was nervous about it falling apart during the toss. It did, a little bit, but I think it was okay overall. Abbey caught it, which was pretty exciting. She had said she planned to catch it much earlier when I had shown it to her and my other roomies.

Boutonnieres:

For the boutonnieres, I used the same button flowers I used for the bouquets. From Michaels, I bought a bouquet of fake flowers that had nice big leaves. I cut off the leaves and attached three button flowers, or six for Nick, using flower tape. I had to use wire cutters to cut the stems a little shorter. I glued the backs of the buttons to the leaves to keep them from getting floppy, and then attached safety pins to the backs.

Corsages:

It took me a while to figure out how to do flowerless corsages for my house party. I ended up making fabric flowers and gluing ribbon and buttons to them, and then a safety pin to each back. Of course, they were orange and pink.

Headware:

For each girl in my wedding party, I made a flower headband. Actually, Kaitlyn helped me make them. She is splendid like that. They alternated orange and pink. I don't think any of my wedding party will wear them again, the colors are very bright, but I wanted to make sure I had something that tied all of them together since their dresses weren't the same.

Bow ties:

Nick and his groomsmen wore pink or orange bow ties that we made a couple of weeks before the wedding. We used the same material I used to make the headbands and wrap the bouquets. Nick actually designed the bow ties, our friend Josiah ironed on the adhesive to make the fabric thicker, and I sewed them. They turned out pretty cute... I want to wear Nick's as a bow for my hair. I made sure each groomsman's tie color matched the headband and bouquet of the bridesmaid he was paired with for the ceremony.

So, I think that is all. Overall we saved hundreds of dollars by not using real flowers. And now I can have my bouquet sitting on my coffee table, looking the same as it did when we got married.

Marriage Mondays

2011-08-01T02:57:00.001-05:00

I've decided to start posting about marriage on... Mondays! It seemed convenient since I thought of it on a Monday. And everyone loves a little alliteration.

Anyway, after 7 months of marriage, I am no expert, but I can share what we discover along the way, right?

During our premarital counseling, Nick and I read Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas. While the author gave many great suggestions, one that has really stuck with me is the following: Have contempt for contempt.

When you start spending a significantly large amount of time with someone, it is easy to get annoyed with certain qualities that person may possess. We all have certain ways we like to do things. And, more often than not, there are some differences between two married people and how they like to live.

Once you start to dishonor your spouse and despise the things they do that drive you crazy, you hold them in contempt. And then it just gets worse. EVERY time they do that thing, it becomes so easy to focus on it and how much it bothers you.

But Thomas urges newly weds to have contempt for contempt. This means that I must keep myself from rolling my eyes when my husband does something that bothers me. In fact, I must despise the desire to do so!

I pray that I will continue to honor my husband and the way he does things. Especially if it's not how I would have done it.

a whole lot of not much

2011-07-31T23:44:00.001-05:00

Oh hey. I have been feeling extremely uninspired lately, which is why I haven't written in so long. I've been doing a whole bunch of nothing, while the hubster has been working outside helping build his sister's house. He's all tan now. The only thing more good looking than my man is my man with a tan.

Anyway, like I said, I've been doing a whole bunch of nothing. I did start watching Dance Moms, which I think is now my new favorite guilty pleasure. It's pretty hilarious.

In case you were unaware, my birthday is in 18 days, and Nicholas and his parents got me an early birthday present. A Kindle, to be exact. I am in love. I haven't purchased any books yet, since we have no income, and are getting ready for a rather pricy move, but I have downloaded my fair share of free books! Today, I finished Black Beauty, by Anna Sewell, which was one of my favorite stories when I was younger. And now I am in the middle of Twelfth Night. I definitely missed reading, so it has been good to get lost in different worlds instead of frying my brain watching billions of episodes of "House Hunters" and "Good Luck Charlie."

Speaking of Black Beauty, here are my three favorite quotes from the book:

"I have heard the commandments read a great many times and I never noticed that any of them said, 'Thou shalt be rich'; and there are a good many curious things said in the New Testament about rich men that I think would make me feel rather queer if I was one of them."

"Do you know why this world is as bad as it is?" "No," said the other. "Then I'll tell you. It is because people think only about their own business, and won't trouble themselves to stand up for the oppressed, nor bring the wrongdoer to light."

"My doctrine is this, that if we see cruelty or wrong that we have the power to stop, and do nothing, we make ourselves sharers in the guilt."

My roomie and her Corey are moving to Missouri tomorrow, and I am so excited for them. Hopefully we will get to see them very soon.

Happy birthday, Harry Potter and Jo Rowling. Thank you for creating a world that has inspired a love for reading and writing in children and adults everywhere.

Annnddd. Since it is almost midnight, happy 7 month anniversary, Allison and JonJon!

Annddd since I have been reminiscing on Allison's wedding and then my wedding, here are some photos to close. I miss these people a whole lot.

roomie love

this pic makes me happy.

love yall!

some more roomie love after the rehearsal. Love this pic, Abbey!

Some things...

2011-07-20T23:30:00.000-05:00

1. The hubster and I are in Missouri right now... Nick is helping build a house and I am... laying by the pool. And watching Dance Moms.

2. Today, we stopped by a thrift store named "Thrift Store". And everything was 50% off!! We got a small, oval frame that I am planning on painting white. And then Nick found the ultimate prize. Harry Potter Scene It for $1.46. ONE DOLLAR AND FORTY-SIX CENTS... !!!! We opened it up to make sure it had all the pieces and the dvd was in good shape. And it was. In case you didn't know, we are big Scene It people. We added it to our collection. So, if you like Friends, Harry Potter, or Disney, you need to come over... In Providence... and we can have a duel!

3. Speaking of Harry Potter, Blair, Nick and I joined hundreds of Potterheads for the midnight showing of Deathly Hallows 2. It was amazing. And we had wands. Sitting in a theater for 3 hours before the movie starts isn't that bad when you know Harry Potter is involved.

Weasley is our king.

The wedding: Bridal Attire

2011-07-18T12:39:00.000-05:00

To my faithful readers: I am sorry I haven't posted in so long! We packed up our car last weekend and, after the midnight showing of Harry Potter, headed up to Missouri to spend a couple of weeks with Nick's family and to talk to people about supporting us in Providence. So far, it's been a great time.

And now, for the actual subject of this blog post: What I wore in our wedding! The attire portion of the wedding can be so expensive! It really can be disheartening for a newly engaged bride or her bridesmaids to sift through all of the possibilities and know that it is very likely that a bunch of money is going to be spent... Especially if you don't have that kind of money.
So, I wanted to try to be sure that I, my hubby, and my wedding party looked good but weren't stressed out about it. I will also post about the wedding party and my hubby at a later time.

The Dress:
I had decided even before getting engaged that I wanted my mom and grandmothers to make my dress. My Grammy had made my mom and aunt's dresses, so I knew it was a realistic dream. But, even though I knew where I wanted the dress to come from, I still needed to figure out what I wanted it to look like. So, I perused many bridal magazines and tried on multiple dresses at David's Bridal. It was kind of awkward going into David's Bridal, knowing that I wasn't going to buy a dress there. The sales women are very persistent and really want to make sales, so it's kind of hard to like something but refuse to buy it.

My favorite style dress was strapless and A-line, with lots of ivory tulle. I fell in love with a dress on the cover of the current "The Knot" magazine. Unfortunately, it was Vera Wang and $6,000. Not quite in my price range. But what I loved about it was the simplicity of just tulle. There was no train and no added embellishments. Just a black sash tied into a soft bow around her waste. I just couldn't get that out of my head. So, we decided to replicate it.
The making of the dress was a little more time consuming than picking out the style. My grandmother found a pattern she thought would work for the shell and measured me from head to toe. Then, we headed to the fabric store and bought thicker fabric for the underneath part and a ton of tulle for the top. Then, my Grammy got to sewing. And there were multiple sizing meetings. I probably would have had a total meltdown if she had finished and it didn't fit. But it did.

(Photo by Meredith Bacon)

The Veil:
It took me a while to settle on an idea for a veil. I found a picture online of something I wanted, but never found it anywhere else. So, the week before the wedding, Nick and I made my veil. Nick should be credited with most of it. I had the idea, he made it reality.
For the veil, we took leftover tulle from my dress and stitched it to elastic in the back. We added a little bit more tulle to cover the elastic. Then, we stitched on a piece of lace that came from my mom's wedding dress. I love how it turned out.

(Photos by Meredith Bacon and Bryce Hamilton, respectively)

The Shoes:
Since I bought my first pair of TOMS back in 2008, I have known I wanted to wear a pair of them in my wedding. I am not a huge shoe person, and I wanted to be comfortable. Nick is also a TOMS lover, so that worked out well. His first gift to me was actually a pair of TOMS that he splatter painted himself.
After a lot of online perusing, Nick and I both decided to order Cordones to wear for the wedding.

(Photo by Meredith Bacon)

That's about it for my attire! Stay tuned for more wedding reflections!

6 months!

2011-07-11T23:55:00.000-05:00

This past Friday, the hubby and I celebrated 6 months of marriage! Compared to a lot of people who have been married much longer, this may not seem like much. But this is longer than we had ever been married before! So it was worth celebrating!
We headed to The Melting Pot for dinner. Nick had never been, and I had only been for dessert, so we were excited to try something new.

The first course was cheese with bread and veggies. And apples. How did I not know people eat apples with cheese? This does not sound good to me. I like apples with caramel or chocolate. But we saved our apples for the dessert round.

I must admit, the cheese round was my least favorite. I could do without it if we ever go again.

For the main course, we got sirloin and shrimp, with potatoes, broccoli and mushrooms. The sirloin was marinated and so so so good. The only bummer about this course was that you have to wait for it to cook.

And finally, we had dessert. Since Nick doesn't like chocolate, we ordered the white chocolate, that was mixed with some other yummy things that I can't remember. And then we dipped marshmallows and brownies and cheesecake and other lovely things until we just couldn't take it anymore. Or until we ran out.

I think my favorite was the little rice krispy treats. True confession: I ate the leftover chocolate with a spoon when we were out of things to dip with. It was delicious.

After our dinner, we got The Tourist from a redbox. All in all, I would say that Nicholas planned a pretty great surprise date night. He's pretty cool like that.

moooo.

2011-07-09T21:48:00.000-05:00

Because free Chick-fil-a is worth it.

strengthsfinder

2011-07-08T08:01:00.003-05:00

The other day, Nick took the Strengthsfinder test for Sojourn. I took it five years ago before heading to Baylor. I thought it would be fun to share both of our results. The test nailed Nick. My little beaver/retriever. And, I must admit, it got me pretty good, too. It's been pretty fun to read through the descriptions.

Nick:
1. Consistency- "You are keenly aware of the need to treat people the same, no matter what their station in life..."
2. Relator- "You do not necessarily shy away from meeting new people... but you do derive a great deal of pleasure and strength from being around your close friends."
3. Responsibility- This theme "forces you to take psychological ownership for anything you commit to... and you feel emotionally bound to follow it through to completion."
4. Discipline- "Your world needs to be predictable... so you instinctively impose structure on your world."
5. Harmony- "You look for areas of agreement... there is little to be gained from conflict and friction, so you seek to hold them to a minimum."

Haley:
1. Competition- "When you look at the world, you are instinctively aware of other people's performance."
2. Activator- "Only action makes things happen... You make a decision, you take action, you look at the result, and you learn."
3. Belief- "You have certain core values that are enduring. They provide you with direction..."
4. Learner- "You love to learn... You are energized by the steady and deliberate journey from ignorance to competence."
5. Context- "You look back. You look back because that's where the answers lie. You look back to understand the present."

It's so fun to see this on paper, because it is so obvious in our relationship. Nick gets uncomfortable when I get too passionate about what I believe in, because he just wants everyone to get along. Where as sometimes, I just want him to openly disagree every once in a while. My Learner theme comes out very often, too, which drives Nick crazy. I ask questions all the time, something I had never noticed before we met. When I don't know something, or don't understand something, I ask about it. We were driving in Colorado, and I asked him why it was called the Arkansas River. He said, "I don't know... you are always asking questions, and I don't know the answers! And it scares me, because you always ask your dad questions, but he does know the answers! I don't know if I can replace that."
Nick knows the answers more often than he is giving himself credit for.

Anyway, aren't personalities fascinating? I love this stuff.

(All quotes from Strengthsfinder 2.0 by Tom Rath)

trust.

2011-07-07T16:30:00.000-05:00

I have been learning a lot about trust, lately. As we have begun the fundraising process for Providence, it is so easy to put my faith, and doubt, in man. Asking people for money is not an easy thing to do, and the fact that we can't go unless people give is really scary.
As I think about this, I am reminded of Lamentations 3:23-25:

Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself, "The Lord is my inheritance; therefore I will hope in Him!" The Lord is good to those who depend on Him, to those who search for Him.

I can't put my trust in people to provide, because people will fail. I can and must put my hope in the only one who won't fail. And the best part is, because He is faithful, there is no need to fear. He will provide, whether that's through the Body of believers, or another way that will catch us off guard. Worry is a sin. The Bible is clear about that. And God has called us to Providence. He has broken our hearts for the people there, and closed all other doors. He will make a way. There is no reason for me to worry.

I have been so encouraged by the generosity and eager hearts of our family and friends! Their faith and sacrifice challenges me. We are so humbled to be a part of God's plan to further His Kingdom in New England.

Today, I as I read Psalm 37, verses five and seven stuck out to me:

Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust Him, and He will help you... Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for Him to act.

I love that the Creator of the Universe, the Almighty God over everything, will help me. I need only to trust. That simple fact just blows me away.

birthday time!

2011-07-07T13:52:00.000-05:00

I am now married to a 23-year-old. Are you serious? I married an old man!
The day began with cake batter pancakes and bacon... and plenty of sprinkles! My grandparents surprised Nick with a lovely pineapple, and I bought him Reeses as a morning "gift". To be totally honest, the pancakes were extremely dense, not light and fluffy. But they still tasted good.

After breakfast, we went to play disc golf. Nick loves disc golf. He plays very often. I, however, normally don't go with him. I can't get the disc to go as far, and it's really too hot to stand outside chasing a frisbee around for 18 holes. But it was his birthday. So I went.

(I just realized that this picture looks like I have one giant leg. 2 legs, people, there are 2 there!)

And I lasted 6 holes. No shame.

For lunch, we had Babe's Chicken to go. Talk about delish. We love Babe's!
Then we headed to Grapevine to meet some friends for dinner. But first, we stopped at Grapevine Mills. I took advantage of the 75% off sale at Old Navy and scored a pair of shorts for $6. Holler.

Then we met some dear friends, Bryce and Mike, at Baja's for some delicious Mexican food. But I was still full from Babe's. So I had a cup of queso. No shame.

Then Mikey came back to the house with us, while I made the birthday cake, they got snow cones and played fooze ball.

Mike won.

And then Nick decided the best way to cut the cake would be with his teeth.

Nothing like delicious angel food cake with fresh strawberries and creamy whipped cream!

The next morning, Nick's gift came in the mail. LOST Season 1 on blu ray!

Independence Day weekend!

2011-07-06T23:59:00.001-05:00

Fourth of July has come and gone. Last year, we really didn't do much for this holiday, but we got pretty crazy this year. And by crazy, I mean we did more than just watching fireworks.

On Saturday, we headed to East Texas to spend time with my familia. But first, we stopped in Canton at First Monday.

We did a lot of looking around, and I ended up getting a knitted headband and then a $1 frame. With a dandelion painting included. Oh boy.

By mid day we were ready to head to Grammy's house for some AC, food, and Dr Pepper.
My cousin helped me decorate Nick's birthday cake. He did a pretty spiffing job. Until he stuck the side of his face in it trying to get down out of the chair. It was pretty hilarious and quite impressive though.

This is another cousin. She is pretty awesome at making great faces for the camera. Or maybe just blinking at the flash. Either way, these pics make me laugh.

We went outside to visit the mules. I realize I shared this pic before, but I mean, come on, aren't her pigtails just precious?

These guys had a pretty good time together. Nick does an awesome Donald Duck voice, which Henry loves.

After lunch, I took a nap on the couch, and then we headed to Plano, where we enjoyed delicious chicken and corn on the cob, grilled by my dad.

On Monday morning, we went to the Arlington parade with my aunt and uncle. It was pretty fun. Except for the creepy clowns and the unbelievable heat.

We got home from the parade and I ended up taking a 3 hour nap. The sun is not my friend.
But then, I made cookies. Cookies with the best tasting dough. Ever. I just kept wanting to eat it. They were chocolate chip cake batter cookies, and I added sprinkles for fun.

The hubster was upset I used chocolate. Didn't stop him from eating plenty, though.

After some cookie baking and some patriotic grilling, we took a ride in my Papa's jeep and headed to watch some fireworks! My hair got a bit wind blown.

Since the Arlington fireworks were the night before, we decided to find a spot to watch the show after the Ranger's game. It worked out really well.

It was definitely a great way to spend the day. I hope everyone had a lovely holiday!

baking and building.

2011-07-06T22:39:00.001-05:00

My hubby is pretty talented. He's good at lots of things, like cooking, and building, and fixing my hair for weddings.
So, my grandparents enlisted him for building a fence. Of course, he jumped at the opportunity. So while he spent the day building, I spent the day baking.

The delicious, ooey gooey cookie cake I made with white chocolate, semi-sweet, and milk chocolate chips.
And sprinkles.

Sprinkles make everything better.

I also made Cookies and Cream Rice Crispy Treats from the Picky Palate. While the idea of these is great, they were waayyy too dry. Either mini marshmallows are bigger in California or they just like their rice crispy treats more crunchy out there. I was kind of confused about the ratio, seeing that it was different from any other recipe I had ever used, but I decided to follow it anyway. And then I noticed that all of the blogs that "reused" her recipe added marshmallows or lowered the amount of crispies, so they obviously had problems too. So, word to the wise, if you make these, just use the whole bag of marshmallows. Other than being really dry and not very marshmallowey, they were good! :)

I went outside to check on my manly man, and he was done! Just putting the final touches on the fence.

And looking good while he was doing it, I might add. Nothing like a man in tie-dye, am I right?

The best part about a new fence is old wood for me to build with!! Hoorayy!!

We plan on building a headboard for our bed. And I am sooo excited about it. Know of any other good things to build out of old fence wood?

2011-07-04T18:25:00.000-05:00

A perfect day would involve both fro yo and snow cones.

Voltaire, hair...

2011-07-03T23:04:00.000-05:00

So I kind of went through a headband making fury. I guess I just got tired of my hair being boring... And I am definitely not paying the kind of money people expect for headbands and clips these days, when I can just do it myself. Are you serious? So I made my own.

These two have been permanently glued to headbands. I really like the pink and yellow one... but rarely find myself wearing pink or yellow. O well. I need to brighten up my wardrobe anyway.

The one above is probably my favorite. I just made it the same way we made the bow ties for the wedding. And I slid the headband through the little loop, so I can use the headband for multiple looks! woot!

For this one, I made the flower and added it to a stretchy headband my sister already had. True confession: I swiped it from her room. But she never wears them so I was pretty confident she wouldn't notice.

I made these two out of old t-shirts, with a five-strand braid. I love how they stretch.

Well, that's all I've got for now. I made a few more flowers, but I have not worn them yet because I am unsure of how I like them.

Happy fourth of July! We will be up bright and early to see the parade in downtown Arlington tomorrow. Excited to celebrate with the hubster! Speaking of the hubster, he has turned off the light and crawled into bed. So now I am just sitting in the dark. Welp, guess that's my cue.

But one last thing: Isn't my cousin absolutely adorable? I think so. If I didn't think pageant children and their mothers were so creepy, I'd say "sign her up!"

Icee's Not So Deep Fried Okra

2011-07-01T22:26:00.000-05:00

I love fried okra. I have always loved fried okra. If I can order fried okra at a restaurant, I will. Nick had never had it before he met me. He was shocked that I ordered okra and I was shocked he had never had it.
Anyway, my Icee and I have bought fresh okra a couple of times from the grocery store. Although I love okra, I had never cooked it myself. In fact, I don't know if I had ever actually noticed it at the store. True confession: I spend very little time in the produce section. But she took me right to where they were, and sure enough, you can buy okra at the grocery store! :)
I decided to document her "recipe," although she insists that there isn't one. This is for me, for later on when I want to make fried okra, and for you, if you would like to try this yourself. Just keep in mind, that because there is not a recipe, there is a lot of eye balling instead of exact measurements. No sweat. Just go for it.

Icee's Not So Deep Fried Okra

Ingredients:

Fresh Okra

Olive Oil

Buttermilk

Cornmeal

Flour

Desired Seasonings

1. Wash and chop the okra, like so:

2. Pour buttermilk over the okra until all of the okra is covered. Let it soak for at least 15 minutes.

3. Pour the olive oil on a skillet until the bottom of the skillet is covered. There should be about half an inch of oil in the pan. Heat the skillet. If you put a piece of okra in it and it sizzles, it's ready!

4. Pour a lot of cornmeal and a little flour in a separate pan and mix.

5. Scoop up some soaked okra, and coat with the cornmeal mixture. Then, add to the skillet.

You don't want to add more to the skillet than this at a time:

6. When the breading has browned, take the okra off the skillet.

7. Repeat step 5 and 6 until all of the okra is cooked! You can season the okra as you take it off the skillet, or wait until it is all done. We use salt and Mrs. Dash's Garlic and Herbs, of course. Be sure not to under-season!

8. Dig in. Delish!

love wins.

2011-06-30T22:15:00.001-05:00

Today, I finished this:

It was quite the team effort. First, I drew out the words on paper until I had them how I liked them. I cut them out, and traced them onto the wood.

Then, my lovely hubby used the saw to cut out the words. It took a while. He is diligent.

The word "love" took a little more effort. For the l, o, and e, Nick had to drill holes before he could get the saw into the letters to take out the middles.

Then I sanded them down. And went outside to take a picture.

Oh hey, I turned around to see my manly man building a fence.

Anyway, I then proceeded to glue the words to a canvas. I used hot glue but there probably is a better way.

On a slight side note, I spotted this lovely tomato growing in my Icee's garden while I was outside. I want to have a garden!

I recruited the hubster to spray paint for me. He did a fabulous job.

And I was left with this. I'm a fan.

The wedding: Paper

2011-06-30T16:39:00.003-05:00

To start, I figured it would be appropriate to begin with the save the dates, invitations, programs, etc. We made a very conscious effort to make these things simple and personal. And also cheap.

Save The Dates

My roommate, Rachel, gave me her secret for save the dates, and I am so so grateful. We used vistaprint.com to create our save the date post cards. Vistaprint always has sales going on. And when I say always, I mean always. We got 200 postcards for free. All we had to pay was shipping! While I had always really liked the idea of magnet save the dates, I did not like the price. Not only were these free but still of good quality, but sending them out was cheaper too, since we only needed to buy post card stamps. I highly recommend this to any bride who is looking for a bargain.

Wedding Invitations

Invitations took a little more work. I had something envisioned, but was having trouble making it a reality. At first, I really wanted square invitations, but I decided against it, since it costs more to send square envelopes. I also really wanted these to be personal, not generic. I looked for packaged invitations, but never fell in love with any. So we decided to make our own.

My baby brother is an artist. He does lovely work, but is not too keen on drawing by request. So it took some bribing. He now has my iPod touch. But he did a lovely job. I created the invitation on Word, and then my lovely hubby to be printed them out on a cream/tan colored resume paper. And then we cropped.

We decided to RSVP through email for a couple of reasons. First, it saves paper. Second, it saves money.

I found some lovely envelopes at an office supply store that happened to be discounted. Oh my, was there much rejoicing that day. So finally we stuffed, sealed, stamped, and sent those suckers out.

Bridesmaid Brunch Invitations

I asked my other little brother to create an invitation that I could send out to my wedding party for our Friday morning get together. He is talented, too.

Rehearsal Coffee Invitations

I asked the same little brother to do a rehearsal invitation, as well. These were also printed onto cream resume paper and then cropped. (Personal addresses have been blurred... it didn't actually look like that. ha)

Programs

Personally, I find programs to be a waste of paper. Most people don't save them, so hundreds of papers get thrown out after the wedding. So, I decided to do something different. Instead of handing out programs, we made a slideshow. Everyone involved, including musicians and photographers were included. I put their full names, how we knew them, their role in the wedding, and then a couple of pictures. The slideshow ran on a loop for thirty minutes before the wedding actually began. I never saw it while it was going, but I heard it served its purpose.

Well, I think that just about covers everything in this category. I wish we had kept all of the prices we spent on everything so I could know exactly, but we didn't. But for all paper products of this nature, I would say that we spent less than $200. Which isn't half bad.

The wedding: Introduction

2011-06-29T08:03:00.002-05:00

I am going to start a series on our wedding! I am really excited about this, and I hope our lovely readers will enjoy reading about our day!

The entire wedding was basically a giant diy project, which was super fun and also super cheap. :) I hope that perhaps these "notes" can be a service to others planning weddings. Or, at least, it will be a nice way for me to look back on our wedding day.

As a preview, some pictures.

(photo by Meredith Bacon)

(photo by Bryce Hamilton)

Can't wait to share more!

free music? yes please!

2011-06-28T14:45:00.000-05:00

If you like Regina Spektor, you should go HERE and download Brooke Waggoner's album FO FREE!!! NoiseTrade is the best! And I am loving Brooke Waggoner's sound.

If you have never heard of Regina Spektor, then you should go HERE and download Brooke Waggoner's album FO FREE!! And then you should go HERE and introduce yourself to Regina Spektor and just eat your heart out because she is so lovely.

a jigsaw is a girl's best friend

2011-06-28T14:37:00.000-05:00

We have been exploring the world of carpentry here at the Jensen/Purdy residence. It's been a pretty exciting time. Reason #3402 why I love my hubby: He is my partner in crime and crafting.

The other day, I had a strong urge to make some wooden letters. So, we got out the wood and the jigsaw. I drew the letters out how I wanted them, and he cut them out with the saw. Then I sanded them down and erased the pencil marks.

Nick did such a lovely job, I was so thrilled. He followed the lines exactly, which I think is so fun, because it looks like my handwriting! Then, I had to decide on a color... I tried out a couple on the back of the h. And then I painted.

I really like the color, I think they will go well in our living room. I wanted something happy and sunshiney. I plan on adding some ribbon to the back to hang them later on. I have also thought about picking out a stamp and making a pattern in a slightly darker yellow. Any suggestions?

On a side note, I spotted this guy hanging out when I went out to take a picture of the painted letters. Bugs like this make me wonder what would happen if I touch them. Would it hurt? Or just feel fuzzy?

Peace, love, and jigsaws.

Because sometimes, I need this reminder...

2011-06-28T08:01:00.000-05:00

"You are my shepherd in the wilderness, whom shall I fear? You are the God who goes before me, my rock and my shield. In trouble times, You will provide, and I shall not want..."

Pray for Southern Sudan

2011-06-27T16:15:00.000-05:00

One of my dear friends and roommates is currently living in Southern Sudan with the International Mission Board Journ eyman program. You can follow her adventure at alyssabrown1.blogspot.com.
She and her team have asked us to join with her in prayer this week for the people of Southern Sudan. The team has sent out this message:

"On July 9th, Southern Sudan will celebrate its Independence Day. This is a history making event and one that can turn this country toward Christ. The Baptist Mission of Southern Sudan invites you to join us for 8 days of prayer, starting on July 3rd going through July 10th."

Watch this video and then join us in prayer during this crucial time!

Truffles!

2011-06-27T08:01:00.002-05:00

Well, I have found some new recipes that I just have to try. This time, the category is TRUFFLES. Man, don't you just love truffles? So much goodness in such a small package. Of course, my favorite version of a truffle is a cake ball. A funfetti cake ball with rainbow chip icing and white chocolate bark. Yes please. But these all look pretty delicious too. If you get the chance to try them before I do, let me know how they turned out!

1. No Bake Vanilla Cake Batter Chocolate Truffles from Love, Veggies, and Yoga

Well, these just look delicious. First of all, vanilla. Second of all, cake batter. Third, sweetened condensed milk. Amen.

2. Peanut Butter Pretzel Truffles from Eating Well

(Photo by The Girl Who Ate Everything)

If you want some great pictures of these truffles, check out How Sweet It Is and The Girl Who Ate Everything. The picture that caught my eye was by the latter. I mean, anytime you put chocolate, pretzels, and peanut butter together, you're going to have a hit. Am I right?

3. Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles from Love and Olive Oil

(photo by Love and Olive Oil)

Oh hi, you look amazing. Anything the words cookie and dough are used together and side by side, I am sold.

Welp, that's all I've got for now. But that's enough to keep anyone busy for at least one day.

3 blogs you should follow

2011-06-26T12:23:00.003-05:00

I love blogs. When people share what they are passionate about, I can't help but smile. I especially love when someone's personality comes out in his or her blog. Today, I am going to share with you three blogs that make me happy. When my Google reader shows that there are unread stories on these blogs, I do a little dance. Mainly in my head. But still. I love them, and, most likely, you will too.

1. For Better or Bratwurst.

This is a cooking blog created recently by my beautiful friend, Kaitlyn. Not only is Kaitlyn doing an excellent job coming up with tasty recipes to feed her "beast" of a husband, but she is so funny while she is doing it. I am so impressed with her ability to cook healthy, meaty food. Follow this blog for yummy food and a smile.

2. A Bicycle Built for Two

When I first found this blog a few weeks ago, the first thing I noticed was their last name. It is the same as ours! Then I sat there hoping that somehow we were related so we could have an excuse to meet and be friends. Because they seem like a newlywed couple I would like to be friends with! Name twin friends, if you will. They share plenty of healthy recipes, and about life between meals.

3. Miss Mustard Seed

I was introduced to this blog pretty recently, and I have already learned so much about paint and refinishing furniture. I am so impressed with her stuff, and she gives pretty detailed instruction on how to do things.

The story of the free tickets

2011-06-25T22:28:00.000-05:00

There once was a girl named Haley, and her husband named Nick. They spent the summer living with their grandparents in Texas. One day, her uncle called. A man had given him four tickets to the Rangers game, complete with a season coupon for parking! The tickets were for right behind first base, under the second level, in the shade! There was much rejoicing!

The group got ready quickly, donning Rangers hats and red and blue, and headed toward the Ballpark. They made their way to a perfect parking spot across the street from the park. And again, there was much rejoicing!

Once inside, they sat down and relaxed in their lovely seats in the shade. There was as light breeze, and while the sun was blazing, they were safe. And there was much rejoicing!

And then the game began. And there were errors. And errors. And more errors. It ended up feeling like the longest game Haley and Nick had ever attended. And there was weeping and gnashing of teeth.

But alas, there was hope. Nick found a coupon for five dollars off a purchase in the concession stand, so he got some nachos! And then Nick bought Haley a strawberry freeze! And there was much rejoicing once again!

But, the strawberry freeze wasn't enough to pull the Rangers out of their funk. The group retreated for the comfort of air conditioning and watermelon when the score was 13 to 2, in favor of the Mets.
And once the AC was found and the watermelon was consumed, there was again much rejoicing.

2011-06-25T10:01:00.004-05:00

Proof that my hubby has always been super good looking.

Take me out to the ballgame!

2011-06-24T23:59:00.000-05:00

Nick and I took advantage of discounted tickets through Baylor and headed over to the Ballpark in Arlington to watch the Rangers cream the Mets. And, since we live right by the Ballpark, it was quite an easy drive.

We sat in the shade the entire game. The Rangers won. They handed out free Dr. Pepper. There was a fireworks show. All of these things contributed to a lovely date night!

Pinterest!

2011-06-24T15:48:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago, Kaitlyn introduced me to Pinterest. I am addicted. I have found so many recipes and so many diy projects... I can't even contain myself!

So. If you like finding inspiration online, and sharing inspiration with others... If you like super user friendly websites and extreme organization... Then get a pinterest!

And you can check out mine at pinterest.com/haleyelisabeth. Woot woot.

Waco

2011-06-24T15:38:00.000-05:00

Nick and I traveled south to Waco this week, and had a grand time.

We walked around campus...

Visited the bears...

Enjoyed Common Grounds...

Relaxed on a swing...

And then it happened. I was setting up the self timer on my camera so we could take a lovely picture in front of the science building. Nick was being silly, jumping off the stairs and coming up with different poses to try. All of a sudden, a gust of wind came out of nowhere and my camera, in slow motion, fell off its perch and down three concrete stairs. The lens was stuck, halfway in the camera. In fact, it's still stuck. And my camera is useless. Boo.

After that, we went to La Fiesta with a friend from Rolla, and then meandered over to the Zamzows to spend the night. That involved plenty of Big Bang Theory, Fro Yo, and Gilmore Girls. Nick and I had the pleasure of sharing a twin sized bed. It wasn't the first time, and it probably won't be the last. And it was better than sleeping on the floor or the couch. But perhaps the reason the divorce rate is so high is because too many couples sleep in twin size beds. And least that is what was going through my head the next morning. I kid. Sort of.

Corey made some delicious cinnamon swirl muffins for breakfast. After indulging in them, we headed to Common Grounds to read before driving back to Arlington.

All in all, it was a great visit!

2011-06-23T23:47:00.000-05:00

The hubster has fallen asleep to Harry Potter.

A man after my own heart.

Pancakes!!

2011-06-23T23:20:00.001-05:00

Over the past couple of days, I have stumbled upon 4 different pancake recipes that I am now dying to try! I figured I would post them here so others can enjoy them and so I can remember to make them!

1. Cake Batter Pancakes from How Sweet It Is

How can you resist something like this? Oh my gosh. The sprinkles... the glaze... it's perfect.

2. Blueberry Vanilla Bean Pancakes from Oh She Glows

These are more healthy than I am used to... I mean, let's be honest... But they look so good. Anything with "vanilla bean" in the name has my vote.

3. Cinnamon Roll Pancakes by Recipe Girl

Back to the sugary options! I doubt I could make them look this great... But I am sure they will taste fine!

4. Orange Chocolate Chip Pancakes by (Never Home) Maker

And ending on a healthy note... The orange is what caught my eye with these... Can't wait to try them!

For those who have the Pioneer Woman cookbook, I can actually recommend her sour cream pancakes. They are great! And I don't like sour cream! If you don't have the cookbook, you can easily do a google search and find multiple people who have reposted her recipe online.

And speaking of cooking, has anyone ever had rhubarb pie or cobbler? I have stumbled across a few different recipes for pie, cobbler, and shortbread recently, but I have never had rhubarb, so I am a little nervous to try it. But the pictures make it look so good!

Two Must Have Seasonings

2011-06-23T22:43:00.003-05:00

We have discovered two seasonings that will probably never be missing from our kitchen ever again. I am so in love with them. Both of them. Together, separate... On potatoes, or chicken, or pasta... One word. Yum.

The first is Mrs. Dash's Garlic and Herb seasoning blend. We had plenty of other Mrs. Dash products, but for some reason, not this one. Never again.

The second is actually salt. But it is the tastiest salt I have ever had the pleasure of consuming. It's Real Salt, and I don't understand why it tastes so good, but trust me, it does. My Papa doesn't like it because the minerals are kind of crunchy, but it hasn't bothered us at all. They have a few different kinds but we use the fine salt. Scrumptious.

Providence

2011-06-21T13:13:00.001-05:00

I will write about our road trip after this post. I just want to fill yall in on the Providence part, first.

Our trip to Prov was great! We got to see the ocean and eat fresh fish and chips. We visited Northpointe Christian Church, a recent church plant that meets in a movie theater. The people there are so lovely... We had multiple meals with them and got to spend some quality time around the fire roasting marshmallows.
On Monday, a real estate agent who goes to the church drove us around all of Providence and its suburbs. He told us about different neighborhoods and schools. It was a great way to see all of the city. I loved all of it. The buildings have so much character and the place is full of history.
There is a section of Providence called Federal Hill, that apparently has all these amazing places to eat. A lot of it is authentic Italian food. Our tour guide said that you can't pick a bad place to eat there. So, on Monday night, we decided to try it out. We walked around and found a yummy pizza/pasta/wraps place. And the atmosphere of the entire area was so cute.

Doesn't it remind you of Italy at Epcot?

Anyway, on Tuesday, we walked around the Brown University and Rhode Island School of Design campuses. I LOVE that side of town. Brown is so unique, the buildings look like old New England houses... You can't even tell you are on a college campus at some points, it just looks like you are walking through a neighborhood.

So, although you probably know, for this blog, we are officially moving to Providence, Rhode Island this fall! Nick will be part of the Sojourn Collegiate Ministry's Providence team. Please check out our website by clicking HERE.

As for right now, our timeline is kind of fuzzy. Currently, we are working on raising support. Before we can go out there, we have to raise $30,000. We are praying fervently for supporters to step forward as we start letting people know about our next adventure. While any gifts are greatly appreciated, we are especially praying for monthly supporters, since we will definitely be out there for at least two years. We would love for the people who have invested in our lives in the past to come along side us for the next two years while we are in Rhode Island.
We are hoping to move out there in late August or September, but it really depends on how fundraising goes.

If you are reading this and would like more information about how you can partner with us, check out our website or email us at nick.haleyjensen@gmail.com. We would love to meet with you and discuss our next great adventure!

2011-06-10T00:21:00.003-05:00

Well, after more than 4000 miles on the road, we are back!! The trip was totally amazing, and I am in love with Providence, Rhode Island. No time to update tonight, but there will be one soon!

On the agenda:
- Feather extensions in my hair tomorrow! Yippee!
- Anna's wedding on Saturday! So excited to celebrate with her!
- Visit Corinn/camp next weekend!

road trip!

2011-05-30T09:57:00.001-05:00

On Thursday, Nick and I will begin our road trip to Providence, RI. The trip is 1,725 one way... With plenty of interesting stops along the way! I am so excited! We are planning on exploring Nashville, DC, Philadelphia, and NYC along the way! So, if you have any suggestions on cool, free things to do along the way, or even in Providence, let us know! Or, if you have friends we could stay with in the Virginia/New Jersey/Pennsylvania area, that would be awesome! :)

I'm hoping to take a video camera to document this awesome road trip.

2011-05-20T17:57:00.000-05:00

It's been a while since we updated. This month has been pretty busy.

My roomie, Rachel, and her husband, Corey, came to visit a few weeks ago! We grilled steaks and played disc golf and spent some great quality time together before they headed to Columbia to visit their future home.

The next week, Nick was gone from Wednesday until Saturday, visiting Providence, RI., since we are considering moving there. He loved everything about the trip, and maybe he will post about it here sometime.
On his way back, he picked Jonathan Fletcher up from the airport! Fletch spent the weekend with us and we went to Maggie and Kevin's wedding together. The wedding was absolutely beautiful. It was in an awesome old barn, decorated with lights and tulle. Plus there was great food and fabulous dancing.

This is our last half of a week in Rolla. We will be moving to Dallas for the summer on Wednesday, just in time for Kaitlyn's wedding! I am so excited for her and Joshua, and so honored to be able to be a part of it!

We started packing today, which was weird, since it doesn't feel like we have been here long enough to leave. Tonight, Nick and I are eating cheap Chinese food and hopefully watching The King's Speech. We were supposed to go to a date night fundraiser at our church, but I have to babysit later than usual. Kind of a bummer, but we will have our own date night!

Week 15!

2011-04-25T13:55:00.000-05:00

Well, this past week was full of surprises! Honestly, I don't remember a lot of the early part of the week, so I will just fill you in on the latter part of the week.

On Thursday, we packed up our stuff and headed to Texas after I got off of work. My parents didn't know we were coming, so it was going to be a big surprise! After driving through storms, we finally got to Plano around 3:30am. Corinn had left the keys in the mailbox so we were able to sneak in and crash in my old room.

The next morning, we came downstairs, and surprised my mom and the rest of the fam. We went to lunch at El Norte and I got my fill on Tex Mex and delicious salsa. Then, we went to Target and helped Callie find some new clothes. Then, we went to Half Price Books and used the rest of a gift card on Emma, Little Women, You Are Special, and a Peter Pan popup book. We spent some time at home and then celebrated my brother, Clay's birthday at Fuddruckers with some family friends.

On Saturday, we went to REI, IKEA, and Old Navy. Then, we came back home and basically crashed. I slept for a couple of hours while Nick went and played some disc golf at a park near by. Then, we went to Chuy's with my dad and siblings. Man, I love that place.

On Sunday, we went to my old church, and then ate roast with my grandparents at home. Then, we loaded back in the car with a ton of stuff, and headed back to Rolla, with a stop at Starbucks inbetween. We left around 2:30 and made it back around 11:00. The storms we drove through were incredible, although the drive was kind of scary for a little while.

Pictures to come later!

Week 14!

2011-04-18T13:48:00.000-05:00

Wow, week 14 of marriage! Crazy!

Well, the week started with church, college lunch, and Dave Ramsey on Sunday.

Nick was working hard on his senior design project, and I was able to help him out with some papers and editing and such. Monday night, which is normally date night, turned into me working an extra hour at the gym and Nick spending all night on campus working on his project. Which meant I stayed at home and watched Friends and then fell asleep all alone. It was kind of sad.

On Tuesday, we had our last gel group, and discussed dependence. It was a really good discussion.

On Wednesday, Tyler came over for dinner after I got off of work. We had twice baked potatoes and rolls and something else that I can't remember... Anyway, then Leah and Kevin came over and we went to Sonic. And they kept us up 2 hours later than we normally stay up. haha.

Thursday, I started feeling really bad, but of course it was our busiest day. Due to some miscommunication, Nick thought I had been kidnapped and we were 45 minutes late for CCF. But we got there in time for Tyler to announce to everyone that he is leaving CCF in the near future to move to Providence and start a college ministry there. But there will be another post on that later. Nick had a soccer game right after, but they lost. Then we hung out with some friends until late, again.

On Friday, we made butterbeer cupcakes!! Leah had some people over to watch HP DH1, so we brought the cupcakes over and had "butterbeer" and pretzel wands. It was definitely a jolly good time. The cupcakes were pretty good but kind of complicated to make.

Saturday, Nick had a field trip to St. Louis. He got to eat frog legs and drink raspberry beer. Both things sound disgusting to me. I had a three hour training for the day care, which I really enjoyed. I have missed being in a learning environment. Afterward, I hung out with Dan and some of his roommates. We played Mario on the wii and watched Cupcake Wars and Wizards of Waverly Place and skyped with Hope, Dan's girlfriend, who is in Italy! Then, Nick came back and we went and got Chinese food and brought it back to Dan's and watched House.

So basically, this week was a week for community!

Nick has 3 more weeks until he graduates! Woooohooo! Then we will be in Rolla for another 3 weeks, and down to Dallas for Kaitlyn and Joshua's wedding!

Week 13!

2011-04-09T14:04:00.000-05:00

Well, we just finished week 13 of marriage!

We got home from the airport at 2am on Sunday... It was cold, and pretty much a slap in the face compared to the lovely Florida weather.

Sunday morning, we started our month of volunteering with our church's children's ministry. We are in charge of checking in the babies/preschoolers and taking them to their classes... Well, I take the children, while Nick stands there and looks pretty. I'm going to have him carry one of the babies tomorrow.

Tuesday, our gel group discussed Godly Discipline. We focused on prayer, study, and corporate worship. I was seriously convicted and challenged.

My work schedule changed this month, so now I don't have to work at the daycare on MWF. It feels like I have a lot more time on my hands.
Nick's week was pretty busy since he had a test, a presentation, and then his Fundamentals of Engineering exam today.

On Thursday, we spent almost 2 hours at Walmart with Tyler, because they fail at life and wouldn't let us pick up these bunk beds for a lady who runs a battered women's shelter. But some great conversation was had and we got to watch Tyler drive a scooter and hobble around like an old man because he blew out his knee.

That night, he cooked us dinner since he made us wait at Walmart for so long... hooray for free dinner and tons of Big Bang Theory episodes.

Friday was a pretty lazy day... I made 5 dozen cookies. Not on purpose, that's just how many the batch made. I babysat in the afternoon, which was great. Nick and Dan drove to Jefferson City to bring back Nick's motorcycle. So then we got to go for a ride to fetch an appropriate calculator for the FE. It terrifies me but is still pretty fun.

Today, Nick woke up early and went to take his exam. I've been praying for stamina and quick recall of everything he has learned these past 4 years. After he is done around 7 or 8, we will have a party! :)

Wedding Pictures

2011-04-06T15:56:00.000-05:00

I realized that I hadn't posted about our wedding pictures! We haven't gotten all of them back yet, but we already love the ones we've seen! The ones I am sharing now were taken and edited by the one and only Bryce Hamilton. I am going to post just a few of our favorites, but you can check out more on facebook.

The Honeymoon!

2011-04-04T14:14:00.001-05:00

Well, we are back from our honeymoon/vacation/spring break! I am sorry I wasn't able to update about Week 11… But we were out of town on Saturday, and honestly, at this point, I don't even remember what we did that week! I remember watching Baylor basketball and spending plenty of time with friends… but that's about it.

And now, for Week 12! Oh boy, I could write forever and ever about this past week. Just as an introduction, since Nick started school the Monday after our wedding, we weren't able to go on a honeymoon right away. So, for Spring Break, we planned a trip to Disney World and The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

We were blessed by Nick's parents to get to stay at Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort, which was SO beautiful. There were plenty of white beaches and awesome pools. The atmosphere was amazing. There are definitely some perks to staying on Disney property, and we took advantage of all of them.
- First, there was free shuttle service to and from the airport. Disney even took our bags early yesterday morning so we didn't have to worry about them once we got to the airport.
- Second, the free Disney shuttles every 15 minutes meant we could hop on a bus whenever we wanted and have it take us anywhere in Disney! It was so nice not to have to worry about traffic or parking
- Third, Extra Magic Hours… Disney resort guests get extra hours at the parks. It was so nice to walk around Magic Kingdom two hours after close and actually enjoy the atmosphere.
- Fourth, the Disney Dining Plan was GENIUS. We got the cheapest one, which meant 2 quick-service meals each plus two snacks each a day. Let me tell you, SO much food. The meals included entrees, sides, and desserts, plus a drink. We would have spent around $30 a meal on food if we hadn't have bought the meal plan. It definitely saved us money and we were never hungry. The snacks were anything from ice cream to rice crispy treats to strawberry crepes…

Because we had 7 Day, Park Hopper passes, we were able to go to any park whenever we wanted… we didn't have to wake up early or stay at the park all day until close… We were definitely well rested!

Some favorites/highlights from each park:

Magic Kingdom
- Dole Whip Pineapple soft serve!
- The classics like Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, Space Mountain, and Pirates
- Walking around at night, after hours, and getting to enjoy rides with low wait times
- I think my favorite ride was Peter Pan. I love that story and it was so fun to fly over the perfect scenes.

Epcot
- Yummy meals in Japan, Mexico, France, and China
- Enjoying a Moroccan dinner on our first night in the Moroccan outdoor marketplace.
- One of my favorite rides for years has been Soarin, and I was so glad that Nick got to experience it with me too! We rode it 3 times!
- Nick really liked the Test Track, but I wasn't as big of a fan.
- Living with the Land was a really cool tour.
- The Disney Flower and Garden Festival is going on now, so all over the park, they had characters made entirely out of flowers. It was really cool.
- We also loved watching all of the films about the different countries. Hopefully we will be able to visit some of them someday!

Animal Kingdom
- Festival of the Lion King was my favorite show that we saw. Such a cool experience.
- Finding Nemo, the Musical
- Expedition Everest-- Probably the best ride at Disney! So awesome!
- Going on a safari that seemed so real!

Hollywood Studios
- I rode Tower of Terror for the first time... and while it is one of my worst nightmares coming true, I still enjoyed it.
- Toy Story Mania was one of our favorite rides... so cool!
- Unfortunately, it was raining on our first day there, and the second time we went, the Rock n Roller Coaster was closed... We never got to ride it or see Fantasmic. Oh well.
- I love the whole "classic Hollywood" feel of this park!
- We escaped the rain and watched Beauty and the Beast, the musical. It was great!

And of course... The Wizarding World of Harry Potter!!
- It was WAY more crowded than any Disney park we went to... and MUCH smaller. This was definitely a bummer.
- BUT the Forbidden Journey is probably my favorite ride from the entire trip. It was amazing! And the line went all the way through Hogwarts, which was awesome.
- Butterbeer is DELICIOUS!
- We ate fish and chips in the Three Broomsticks. So cool!

Well that's about it. Check out my facebook for more pics. Now we are back in Rolla, where it is windy and 44 degrees. Yeah...

Week 10

2011-03-19T15:29:00.000-05:00

So I decided that I am going to try to at least do weekly updates on this thing... And since this is our 10th week of marriage, I am going to start at week 10... :)

We started off the week camping outside of Rolla. There were plenty of smores eaten... even for breakfast. Nick spent Sunday morning fly fishing and I read by the fire.

We learned about mutual funds and investments and such in our Dave Ramsey class. Honestly, I had no idea what he was talking about. Then we tried out Aldi's for grocery shopping for the first time! We saved a lot of money, and will definitely be going back. I also got to have a phone date with Allison, which was pretty grand. We hadn't talked, besides texts, since my wedding.

The week went by pretty quickly. On Monday, it snowed. I made cupcakes from scratch! I had never done that before, and while it was pretty time consuming, I was pleased with the result. On Wednesday, it was in the high 60s. I work from 8am until 1:30, and then again from 6:30-8:30 on Wednesdays, so I have a pretty big gap to rest and do my own thing. Nick came home from campus and took me to a place he normally rock climbs! We hiked around for a little while... I almost fell down a waterfall... And then he set up the hammock over a little drop off while he went and fished. It was a great break from the apartment, and I just laid in the sun and read. Then he had to come and help me get out because I couldn't do it myself, or I would fall down the drop off. Ha.

On Thursday, I got to skype with my lovelies, Rachie, Abbey, and Alyssa. It was so great to be able to talk to them. I miss having friends who know me well. Friday, I babysat Tucker, as usual, but he has pneumonia right now... After snuggling on the couch some, he went to bed and slept the entire time I was there... It ended up being nice because I worked on our Disney itinerary and got to watch Harry Potter and college basketball... two of my favorite things!

Today, Nick played intermural darts. I had never heard of such a thing. But he and his partner did pretty well! They didn't win, but they beat a lot of people... :) While he was darting, I skyped with my dad, and got to see most of my family and all of the dogs. Scooter is about to die. I've been saying that for years, but I think it's really about time now. Right now, Nick is playing disc golf and I am hanging out at the library. Later, we are having a Lady Bears basketball watching parttayyy with grilling and, of course, Dr Pepper floats. I am SO excited. I feel like I am finally able to pass along part of my culture... haha.

That's all for week 10. 1 week until Disney and Harry Potter world! weeee!

bringing home the bacon

2011-03-16T17:33:00.000-05:00

Hallllo.

It's a beautiful day here in Rolla. Nick surprised me during my break between jobs and took me to a cool spot where he likes to rock climb. He set up a hammock for me and then spent some time fly fishing in the river. Definitely a fun break I needed.

I figured I would spend this time talking about my two jobs! I am so so so blessed to have them.

The first is at Flip Flop gymnastics. The gym is right next door to our apartment complex, so when the weather is nice, I can walk! I coach from pre-school to middle schoolers, with a bunch of different levels. Most of my kids are super cute and fun to hang out with. Honestly, some days I get really worn out working there, but I am learning to endure joyfully. My boss has a two year old who I get to babysit every Friday, which I LOVE. He is seriously one of the cutest kids I have ever met.

My second job is at a small day care. I work 2 mornings and 2 afternoons there. Getting up early for those two mornings is not pleasant, but once I get to work, I get to hold and feed babies, and read and play with preschoolers! It's basically the best job ever. I am learning a lot about taking care of infants, which is awesome. It definitely makes me miss Talitha Koum, though. The kids are so fun and I love that since there are less than ten of them, I can get to know them all individually.

Nick is busy with his senior design project and finishing up his classes. We still have no idea where we will be after May, but he has applied for a ton of jobs so hopefully we will know something soon! We are heading to Disney World for our honeymoon in a week and a half and are SO excited.

I will post more later about our latest adventures, but for now, I need to go get ready for work.

Chicago for the weekend!

2011-02-28T15:13:00.001-06:00

Hello! It has been so long since we have posted on here, but I figured this was a good time to start again! I will still be posting on my personal blog, but this one will be used more for updates and family matters... I will post later about our new lives here in Rolla, but for now, I want to talk about our latest adventure!

One of our friends, Hope, lives 2 hours south of Chicago, so on Thursday night, Dan, Leandra, Nick and I set out to spend the weekend at her family's home. She is about to leave for Italy for the semester, so she hasn't been in Rolla. The drive was definitely challenging. Leandra was driving, and she did great... However, the weather was terrible. It rained until we got to Saint Louis and then it started to snow. We didn't think the snow was sticking... until we spun out of control across the three lane highway. Leandra was able to gain control again before we flipped or went off the road, which was amazing. We had to go around 40 mph the rest of the way, so we ended up at our destination around 1:30am.

Hope's home is so lovely, and her family is amazing! They provided us with so much food and entertainment, it was like we were staying at a bed and breakfast! On Friday, we just stayed there and relaxed all day. We watched movies, read, ate, played Kinect in their basement. I must say, I like Kinect better than Wii. It was so much fun! One thing interesting about Missouri/Illinois is that all the houses here have basements! So weird considering that I had been in very few basements before moving here... They make great play areas for the kids... The Pre-School I work at is actually in the basement of my boss's house.

Anyway, then we went to this cute little coffee shop. I love coffee shops, and I wish Rolla had a good one... We also had some great pizza at Monocles.

The next morning, after being stuffed with breakfast by Hope's mom, we headed for Chicago! We started out by driving along Lake Shore Drive, so we could see both Lake Michigan and all the buildings of downtown Chicago. Unfortunately, it was super foggy and snowing, so we couldn't see the top of the really tall buildings, and Navy Pier was not an option. We spent some time in a Northern suburb with Dan's uncle, aunt, and two cousins. We got lunch at Homer's Ice Cream Shoppe. It has been there for 75 years, and reminded me of Dairy Palace.

Once in downtown, we checked out the Art Institute's gift shop, which had some great stuff in it. Then we headed for the big bean! Apparently the artist meant for it to be a cloud... But it is definitely a bean. We took some pics and then started walking down Michigan Avenue.

The buildings were all so unique and so lovely! My favorite building holds the Chicago Tribune. Besides being really beautiful and huge, it has pieces of other famous buildings placed in the walls! It was amazing! Texas was represented with the Alamo, which was awesome, but obviously I was more fascinated with the bricks from Pompeii, the Colosseum, etc.

We spent over an hour in the Apple store, because I had to get my computer fixed. We went in and out of other stores, too. They have everything.

For dinner, we ate at Giordano's, and got Chicago deep dish pizza! I was surprised that I actually liked it! It was great, and the atmosphere was fun.

Then we walked along the river, by the new Trump building, and took some pictures. By this time, it was dark, and all the buildings looked so pretty lit up along the river. We walked to the Corn Cob buildings, because Nick is doing a project on them. They were fascinating! The first few floors have a parking garage, there are no walls, just chain. And all the cars are parked with the backs to the outside of the building. There is NO way I would ever back up in a parking spot 10 stories up with no wall.

Finally, we headed to the Hancock building, which is 96 stories, and has a restaurant and bar on the top two, with huge glass windows as walls. We got a great table that would have been a lakeside view, but unfortunately, we couldn't see anything. It was so foggy that it looked like there were giant screens against the windows to keep light from coming in.

As we were heading back to our car, we stopped and watched this cool ice skating and dancing show at the outdoor skating rink by the bean. It was so neat watching the performers outside in front of the beautiful Chicago skyline. And it was the first time we had ever seen good ice skaters perform live.

Back at Hope's house, we slept in and then were fed some great breakfast by her mom. We watched a movie, played some basketball, ate lunch, and then headed home.

I am having trouble adding pics, but if you are friends with me on Facebook, you can check them out there! Enjoy!

Meet the Wedding Party: Luke Randall Jones

2010-10-20T09:16:00.006-05:00

Here is Luke Randall Jones,

It all started my sophomore year of college, Jimmy and I were getting two new freshmen in our room we were kind of nervous for them, 204 had high standards! We all got settled in and started to get to know each other then Luke and I found that we saw things a bit different, part of it was I liked pestering him, so that first semester we were at each other like no other. After many nights of pillow talk, me perching on the edge of his bed ready to pounce, and late night McDonald's runs after face melting rock band concerts we came to love each other.
Over the years we have had our ups and downs, like he wasn't happy when I move out of the house, but our kayaking trips are always good when we can go. Oh and when we decide to change the room somewhere close to finals week and stay up most of the night, or when we change it after Luke has left because he would cry about it if he were there. He now has a motorcycle and once I get a new back tire that isn't about to unravel we can go for some fun rides.
Luke is an awesome guy and great friend. I am privileged to know him and hope he follows me where I get a job so we can still hang out.

How do you know Nick? I was lil Nicki’s roomie for a full year! Fun times.

What do you want to be when you grow up? I’m aspiring to be a biochemical engineer, but if that fails a professional hobo is my backup plan. Dream job: professional drummer.

What is your favorite past halloween costume? Travis Barker. Legit with lip ring and fake tattoos

What is your current obsession? I have a constant addiction to sweatpants. Tortilla wrapped turkey sandwiches that are microwaved.

What song do you most want to dance to at the wedding? Put on – young jeezy lol

Hollywood decided to make Nick and Haley's story into a movie. Who would play them? I don’t know very many actors/actresses. Nick should be played by adam sandler. I like adam sandler. Hayley should be played by Jessica alba. Because Jessica alba is pretty.

What should Nick and Haley name their first pet? Carmen (I don’t know but it sounds good) if you ever live in san diego you can always say “where in the world is Carmen san diego”

What is your favorite memory involving Nick? When nick spiderman perched on the railing of our beds and went crazy.

Do you have any potentially embarrassing stories involving Nick? If so, please share. Nope, never. Nick wasn’t the embarrassing person in our group.

If Nick could eat one food for the rest of hislife, what would it be? Bananas, he always had a lot of them.

What song will always remind you of Nick? Blueberry yum yum or college girls. Both remind me of nick

Meet the Wedding Party: Brandin LeBlanc

2010-10-18T09:25:00.007-05:00

Brandin LeBlanc everybody...

Brandin and I met during ropes training at Pine Cove in 2009. We became good friends pretty fast and then started doing laundry on the weekends together and hanging out having fun. Then I met Haley and neither of us had a car, which kind of made spending time together hard to coordinate but Brandin being the awesome guy that he is allowed me to use his car. This helped Haley and me out as well as made Brandin and me closer friends.
We both like to play volleyball and still haven't played together, which is a shame and needs to happen some time.
This past summer he was Castle Rock senior counselor so we didn't get to hang out quite as much but that week 1 that I had C-Rock was epic for sure!!
I love Brandin's heart for people, he is eager to help other and preach the Gospel to those who need to hear it. I am glad that we are friends and I know that hearing about what he is doing makes me want to work harder, most of the time.

How do you know Nick/Haley?

-Pine Cove in the summer of 2009.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

-second grade teacher.

What is your favorite past halloween costume?

-penguin

What is your current obsession?

-New Era caps

What song do you most want to dance to at the wedding?

-I Gotta Feeling – Black Eyed Peas or Party in the USA – Miley Cyrus

Hollywood decided to make Nick and Haley's story into a movie. Who would play them?

-Jim Parsons and Jayma Mays

What should Nick and Haley name their first pet?

-Jammel

What is your favorite memory involving Haley/Nick?

-pretty much the summer of 2009

If Nick could eat one food for the rest of his life, what would it be?

- brownie ball

What song will always remind you of Haley/Nick?

- Trashin’ the Camp – Tarzan

Great weekend!

2010-10-17T21:25:00.002-05:00

Nick came to Texas this weekend... It was pretty spectacular. He road the train with me to work on Friday, and worked on his lab report while I was at work. Then, we road the train to the State Fair. I loved getting to experience the Fair with him. It is one of my favorite things from my childhood... Right up there with Christmas, and getting to show him around and talk about all the stuff I love about it was so great.

On Saturday, we ordered our TOMS for the wedding, and then we went and bought WEDDING RINGS!!! This is getting real, people! He told me I could wear it to dinner, but I refrained. We also made a trip out to our favorite date place, IKEA, for some 50 cent hot dogs. Then, we worked on cropping our invitations! I am so relieved that those are done! For dinner we had my favorite, On The Border.

Sunday, we went to church and then to Spaghetti Warehouse because we had a coupon for their "Feast for Two." Let me tell you, more like a feast for 6. There was so much food, Nick is going to be eating leftovers for a week.

All in all, it was a great weekend. Here is what we accomplished off the wedding list:
- Wedding rings purchased.
- Invitations completed.
- Shoes purchases.
- Finalized the ceremony music.

Meet the Wedding Party: Allison

2010-10-14T18:59:00.004-05:00

Introducing Allison Catherine Legg!

I have known Allison since the summer of 2007, but we did not become real friends until the next year. We lived together in the lovely CJ 6, enduring a lot of bugs and dirt and lack of sleep together. Then, we worked a cheerleading conference at Pine Cove together... and were made the Mountain Biking instructors. Take a few seconds to picture that. Or you can read about it HERE.
Then we made the most epic road trip ever, to Kansas City, for a wedding. As an ironic side note, Nick was supposed to be at that wedding, too, since it was his old roommate who was getting married. However, he did not go, which pushed our meeting back to 2009. On this road trip, I was the dad with the video camera and the directions, and Allison was the mom, since that is just her nature... :)
Since then, Al has been such a blessing in my life. I have loved talking about wedding stuff and marriage stuff and life stuff with her. She is getting married one week before us and I cannot wait to learn together with her as we explore the role of "wife" for the first time.

How do you know Haley?--Hales and I met at the Towers gauntlet summer 2007 and then worked part of second half together. We became better friends the following summer and then best of friends after our Kansas City roadtrip Christmas 2008.

What do you want to be when you grow up?--Since I was 3, I always wanted to be a doctor, nevermind the fact that I carried a baby doll with me everywhere I went

What is your favorite past halloween costume?--I remember getting to borrow a "real" princess dress and crown when I was about four or five--that was my highlight.

What is your current obsession?--Paninis!

What song do you most want to dance to at the wedding? --Cyclone, duh!

Hollywood decided to make Nick and Haley's story into a movie. Who would play them? --Amanda Bynes (She's very quirky, real, and totally cute but doesn't know it, like Hales) & Brad Pitt (He seems kind of shy and a little mysterious, much like Nick)

What should Nick and Haley name their first pet? Dixie--Haley, you can't move all the way to Missouri and not take some of Texas with ya!

What is your favorite memory involving Haley? --Easily our roadtrip to Kansas City. Hales rode shotgun most of the time and I drove the whole time. We made a video and happen to nonchalantly say, "PC '09--maybe you're out there" in reference to our dream boys...Needless to say we're both marrying guys from PC '09!

What song will always remind you of Haley/Nick?--Disney theme songs and Taylor Swift.

Meet the Wedding Party: Nathan

2010-09-27T16:07:00.006-05:00

Today's Guest: Nathan Thomas Dowd

Nathan and I haven't known each other very long, just over a year, but for as solid as our friendship is you would think it has been much longer. Nathan is one of those friends that will do anything for you no matter what he has going on, which if you didn't know is a great kind of friend to have.

One of my good memories with Nathan was when some of us we sitting in the basement of the house just talking until like 2 am and the next day Mike, Josiah and I were going to work a conference at Pine Cove and we talked Nate into going with us. It was a great time!!

Then we got to know each other more through midnight prayer groups and decided to lead a small group together which was awesome. This was Nathan's second semester at school when he decided to move out of a house of 40 christian guys in to the dorms so that he could better evangelize to the students on campus. It was great to see God working through him in that way. Then the end of that semester he pledged Delta Sig and started ministering to the greek community also.

Nathan truly has a heart for people and he is a great friend to have.

How do you know Nick/Haley?

I met Nick in the fall of 2009 in the middle of a battle. The ruckus started amidst shouts of "One-Twelve!!!" as the members of Room 112 (including Nick) came charging into my room, Room 111, starting a never-ending war between our two neighboring rooms. It was quite the way to meet someone.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

I want to be a civil engineer that builds some of the coolest bridges ever seen all over the world!

What is your favorite past halloween costume?

Eh...I haven't been that creative in that area...sorry :/

What is your current obsession? (song, idea, food, article of clothing, etc.)

My current obsession is Delta Sigma Phi Fraternity. I absolutely love what the fraternity stands for and I love each of my fraternity brothers, especially our new pledge class that I hope to mentor and grow in God's Word with!

What song do you most want to dance to at the wedding?

Hmm....

Hollywood decided to make Nick and Haley's story into a movie. Who would play them?

Nick - The Rock....because Nick's good at everything...like The Rock

What should Nick and Haley name their first pet?

Kayakitty

What is your favorite memory involving Haley/Nick?

My favorite memory involving Nick was definitely the time we spent together leading our evangelism gel group. I know I learned a lot from Nick and I hope he had a good time too. It was great growing in our walk with Christ with him during that time.

Do you have any potentially embarrassing stories involving Haley/Nick? If so, please share.

Oh I wish...but I don't think so.

If Haley/Nick could eat one food for the rest of his/her life, what would it be?

Nick would eat steak or Papa Murphy's the rest of his life.

What song will always remind you of Haley/Nick?

"Hear Our Prayers" by The Glorious Unseen...It's a great song about the power of prayer which is definitely something I admire about Nick. He is so focused on prayer which is such a vital way to communicate with our Heavenly Father.

Apparently Nathan and I don't like to be in the same camera lens, so here are a few of him...

Meet the Wedding Party: Kaitlyn

2010-09-25T23:06:00.008-05:00

Today's Guest: Kaitlyn Renee Posey (almost Works!)

Kaitlyn started going to Coram Deo when we were in 9th grade, and honestly, most of us were not sure what to think of her. She was extremely outgoing and sociable, whereas I don't think I spoke for my first 6 years there. She got in trouble for not wearing shoes during class. All the boys loved her and she had tons of friends.
We were in most of the same classes that year and then probably all of the same classes every year after that, give or take a few. We played softball together until she hurt her shoulder. But until eleventh grade, we weren't really friends. That is, until the first annual All-Star debate. I will just take a minute to describe this so that everyone can get a good picture of what was said to be CDA's greatest sport. Each Upper School grade voted on 5 members to be part of an "all star" team to represent the class in a debate tournament. Kaitlyn and I were both selected to be part of that team. There is a lot more I could say about this experience, but I will just end with the fact that it is responsible for the first and only time I ever cried at school.
Anyway, we ended up spending more time together, both in and out of school. By the time senior year came along, I was talking more at school and actually had friends, but I spent most of my time in Flower Mound with Kaitlyn. We led a Bible Study together, had sleepless nights baking and watching Disney movies and preparing for debates together, and spent many many days and nights at our friend Caleb's house together.
After graduation, she moved to Tyler and I moved to Waco, and it was pretty sad, but we still managed to spend a lot of time together during breaks. She is hilarious and I love her 3 minute long phone messages. I am so blessed by her friendship and I love that she is a part of my wedding.

From Kaitlyn:
How do you know Haley?
I met Haley through the fine institution of Coram Deo Academy, which means 'in the presence of God' for those unfortunate enough not to have had Latin.

What do you want to be when you grow up?
I would like to be an adult when I grow up.

What is your favorite past halloween costume?
My favorite Halloween costume was a peacock! I painted my face and everything.

What is your current obsession?
My current obsession is chilled swiss oatmeal, it makes me feel healthy.

What song do you most want to dance to at the wedding?
The song I most want to dance to at my wedding, is a secret.

Hollywood decided to make Nick and Haley's story into a movie. Who would play them?
I think Jake Gyllenhall and Reese Witherspoon would play the two lovers

What should Nick and Haley name their first pet?
Nick and Haley should name their first pet 'Consummate.'

What is your favorite memory involving Haley?
My favorite memory of Haley is probably when she surprised me and took me to Phantom of the Opera, and we had a sweet photo shoot at Fair Park.

Do you have any potentially embarrassing stories involving Haley? If so, please share.
Embarrassing stories of Haley, well this isn't embarrassing but I remember some certain boys in our class used to think she was SO stuck up, haha probably because she was always quiet and gave people weird looks when they did something ridiculous.

If Haley could eat one food for the rest of her life, what would it be?
I would make Haley eat nothing but children's food like gummies and goldfish, but I would redeem myself by letting her drink coffee from Common Grounds for the rest of her life.

What song will always remind you of Haley?
I frequently think of Haley when I listen to Tay Tay Swift. Her new song makes me so happy I listed to it 34 times in a row.

All-star debating...

Junior year prom!

Whole Foods!

Powderpuff champions

Meet the Wedding Party: Hannah

2010-09-16T19:24:00.005-05:00

So, over the next 3.5 months, we are going to feature the people in our wedding party! We sent them an interview to fill out, but we will also comment on our relationships and include pictures. We can't wait for you to meet some of our favorite people!

Today's guest: Hannah Estelle Cable!
Hannah and I have known each other for... ever. We went to the same church, we were campers together at Pine Cove, Towers through Shores, and we both went to Baylor. We have some pretty great stories together, but my favorite is probably from when we were around seven years old. Hannah was over at my house, and we were playing, of course. My dad was sick in bed, and my mom walked out of the room and told me, "Haley, Eddie's dead." Now, Eddie was my pet rabbit. I of course burst into tears and was completely distraught. Well, Hannah did not hear my mom say, "Eddie died..." She heard my mom say, "Daddy died." She was of course extremely sorry and probably felt a little awkward... I don't even know how I learned about this misunderstanding, but it makes me laugh now.

From Hannah:
How do you know Haley?
I have known Haley ever since I can remember...so like 20 years. Thats a long time.

What do you want to be when you grow up?
Well, right now I am what I wanted to be when I grew up, but I'm gonna go with world traveler for now.

What is your favorite past halloween costume?
My costume last year! I was a punk! I will probably repeat it this year.

What is your current obsession?
Erik Hassle, Nathan Bateman, Boots, Hotdogs

What song do you most want to dance to at the wedding?
Ummm Bohemian Rhapsody

Hollywood decided to make Nick and Haley's story into a movie. Who would play them?
Emma Watson should play Haley, and ummm let's go with Hugh Dancy for Nick

What should Nick and Haley name their first pet?
Harry Potter

What is your favorite memory involving Haley?
Hmmm too many...making the Bohemian Rhapsody video, the Superman at Pine Cove senior year, exploring PCBC

Do you have any potentially embarrassing stories involving Haley? If so, please share.
Haley doesn't get embarrassed very easily.

If Haley could eat one food for the rest of her life, what would it be?
This isn't a food, but Common Ground's 254 or Cowboy Coffee.

What song will always remind you of Haley?
Anything we listed to over and over again senior year...The Veronicas, Bohemian Rhapsody, Hips Don't Lie

Videos... that may or may not be embarrassing.

2010-08-30T17:00:00.002-05:00

A few videos for your entertainment.

Nick, along with our photographer, Bryce, one of our ushers, Jordan, and Nick's old roommate, Jimmy.

Me, along with Allison, Lacey, Lindsey, and Abbey.

Hannah and my video that we made a couple days before I left to be a Baby Ruth in 2006.

Top 5 Favorite Disney Movies

2010-08-22T14:32:00.003-05:00

Her List:
1. Enchanted
2. Lilo And Stitch
3. The Incredibles
4. Toy Story 3
5. The Emperor's New Groove

His List:
1. Lion King
2. Aladdin
3. Brink
4. Monster's Inc.
5. Toy Story

Great books for a great price

2010-08-11T22:01:00.002-05:00

Don't you love when you find exactly what you need for a great price!?

Nick and I will be reading through Sacred Marriage, by Gary Thomas, for our pre-marital counseling. Nick tried to order the books on amazon but ended up ordering 2 participant guides instead. These will be great for discussion, but we still needed the book! Since we live so far apart, we can't share the book, which meant we both needed one. So, I ventured up to Half Price Books a couple months ago in eager anticipation to see what kinds of marriage books they had. Guess what. They had one copy of Sacred Marriage for $6.00!! I was ecstatic, and bought it immediately. Well, Nick still needed a copy, but since he had paid for the participant guides, I said I would cover the books this time. So, today I went back up to the same Half Price Books hoping that maybe they got another copy in since the last time I was there. AND THEY DID! Just one! Hooray! So now we both have books and I paid less than $15.00 for both of them.

A friend also recommended For Women Only, and For Men Only, both by Shaunti Feldhahn. Since they are two different books, I was unsure if I could find both of them at Half Price Books. But I did! So I got both of them for the price of one! Hooray for half priced books at Half Price Books! So right now, I am reading For Women Only, and have already learned some great stuff! I can't wait to see what else we learn through pre-marital counseling!

I looked for others that have been recommended to me, but could not find them. Hopefully, better luck next time!

Learning from Long Distance

2010-08-11T13:53:00.002-05:00

Anyone who has experienced a long distance relationship knows that it is hard work. Communication is frustrating, travel is expensive, and the time actually spent together is always too short.
While Nick is at camp, and not only far away but not able to communicate, I thought I would share about our experience with a long distance relationship and what I have learned from it. Perhaps Nick will add his input when he gets back from camp.

First, what I have learned from our situation:
- Communication is crucial. So is patience. It is so easy to read into certain words or voices over the phone, but that is not necessarily what the other person is trying to say. It is a lot better to me to ask what he meant than to assume he meant something else. This is where the patience comes in. Not being understood can be frustrating. Being asked, "what?" six times in a row can also be frustrating. But once I get frustrated, he gets frustrated, and then the time spent on the phone gets unpleasant fairly quickly. I have definitely learned a lot about patience over our long distance relationship.

- Nick cannot fully sustain me. Only God can. When something goes wrong, the first person I want to talk to is Nick. But sometimes, that isn't possible. Especially this summer, God has been teaching me to rely on Him first and let Him use Nick when He wants to. I have to remind myself of Psalm 55:22: "Cast your cares on the Lord, and He will sustain you."

- Appreciate every moment. I can honestly say I do not do this as well as Nick. I like my sleep. Nick would have us stay up all night if I let him. Sometimes I think he might be a vampire. Not really... but seriously. I don't think he sleeps. Anyway, time is precious, and when you only have 36 hours together, your actions and words should have purpose. Even if that purpose is just spending quality time watching Friends or Big Bang Theory together... :)

Next, I will share some ways we have made long distance more bearable:
- Skype/Video iChat: This is not only used for just talking. We have also been known to cook dinner together, watch movies/tv shows together, and dye Easter eggs together on skype. We also would do a lot of homework/reading while on skype. Not a lot of talking but the next best thing to actually studying together.

- Doing something together while we are apart: This summer, when we couldn't talk during the week, we both decided to only drink water while we were apart. Knowing that he was doing the same thing every time I ordered water or refrained from drinking coffee was comforting.

- Text messages- Ok, this sounds so silly, I know... But Nick didn't have text messaging on his phone until a little after we had started dating. I can't imagine not being able to text him random questions or thoughts or announcements... Well, I can imagine that, because that is how it is right now. ha. It's pretty lame.

Well, that's all I have for now. If anyone else has any suggestions for long distance relationships, please, feel free to share. We will start another 5 month stretch soon.

Picture Perfect

2010-08-10T00:37:00.003-05:00

You know when you first start dating someone, but you aren't at the point where you are comfortable enough to take pictures together? Well, I think those pictures that do happen to take place are so funny, because there is a little awkward taste to them. I thought I would share our first pictures together with you, because Nick is at camp and I can't talk to him, so pictures are the best I can do.

This was the first picture we took together. It was actually before we were dating, and before I taught Nick how to smile naturally. Obviously.

This was the second picture we took together, taken on the last day of camp, after we had been dating for a few weeks. It was still pretty awkward. Like, what is up with Nick's hand?

This was the first picture we took of ourselves, at a Baylor football game. This was actually when I was helping Nick learn to smile naturally. He made such great progress!

This was still very early on in the picture taking comfort phase, at the Pine Cove tailgate. This picture is awkward because it looks like it is supposed to be a picture of just me and Kevin with Nick creeping on the side.

In this picture, a week later at a conference, Nick attacked me.
But after this, the pictures started coming more naturally, and things were no longer awkward.
Thank goodness.

New engagement pics, check them out!

2010-08-06T18:02:00.006-05:00

Check out our new engagement pictures found under our Engagement Pictures tab! Thanks to Lauren Withrow who took them and edited them!

Some of our favorites:

Top 5 Favorite TV shows

2010-08-05T19:52:00.003-05:00

His List:
1. Chuck
2. Lost
3. Big Bang Theory
4. White Collar
5. Gilmore Girls

Her List:
1. Lost
2. Friends
3. Gilmore Girls
4. Chuck
5. Big Bang Theory

Well, we will basically always be able to watch shows together. Our admiration of Community and Covert Affairs is also growing.

summer in snapshots

2010-08-02T01:57:00.004-05:00

161 days to go!

2010-07-30T23:27:00.002-05:00

Well, we have been engaged for around 5 months and have around 5 months to go. 161 days to go, to be more specific.
I think we have been trucking along quite nicely with the planning. Although, the knot to do list slightly terrifies me.
We found a location for both the ceremony and the reception.
We have discussed food and drinks and cakes.
We ordered Save the Dates, and only got half of them because of a problem with the postal service. So, I ordered more. Those were cut wrong. So they sent me ANOTHER order. Half of them have been addressed and the other half will be soon, so that they can get sent out in the next two weeks!
I tried on dresses, found pictures I liked, and talked to my mom and grandmother about them. Kaitlyn and I went to a fabric store and found some great fabric that we think will look great for the dress.
Nick and I bought buttons and worked hard at making hundreds of button flowers.
We finished registering, although we still need to go through and make sure we did not miss anything.
Nick and I went to the fabric store in Jefferson City to look for the right colors for bridesmaid accessories.
Right now, we are working on groomsmen attire, figuring out what I want to do with my hair/veil, finding a place to live, and searching through honeymoon locations. I have the basic idea for bridesmaid attire, but I am trying to work out the details.

I just thought I would add a list of resources we have used so far.
- Green Wedding Shoes
- Once Wed
- Style Me Pretty
- Intimate Weddings
- Vistaprint- Free save the date postcards! We only had to pay for shipping!

Well, I will end with this note: I am currently watching Say Yes to the Dress, and it makes me want to throw up.

Peace.

The Proposal

2010-07-30T17:46:00.001-05:00

I was off school for a few days for St. Pats day ( gotta love MST ) so I flew down to Dallas, TX to spend some time with Haley and, unknown to her, to "Pop the ?"

So, I planned a day of festivities for us to do on March 11, our 8 month anniversary.

First, I let her sleep in because she thinks I wake her up too early when I visit. After she got ready for the day, we went to a coffee shop to start the day because she LOVES coffee!! But she got an italian soda... so much for loving coffee. Oh, and another reason for the coffee shop was because in Tyler, we hung out at a coffee shop a lot to get to know each other on the weekends.

Next, we went to Barnes and Noble, because it was another place we hung out in Tyler a bunch and because she LOVES books!! We walked around for a while and she looked at books, I stood next to her, and it was a great time. I talked her into buying a better version of Peter Pan. We looked at wedding books too, which looking back on, is kind of funny!

After B&N, I figured we would go to another of her favorite places and one that I enjoy more each time we go: IKEA. We strolled around the store for a while looking at the different furniture setups and room arrangements. Before we left, we grabbed some delectable food: 50 cent hot dogs.

I drove us to what I thought would be a great little park by a lake but turned out to be a dock that was no good for picnics. In my defense, it's hard to plan stuff in a town that you are not familiar with. She saved me with a spot that was actually a park by a lake. By this time, the hot dogs had become slightly warm dogs but it is ok because I had Garden Salsa Sun Chips, Zebra Cakes, and Sweet Tea to go along them. We enjoyed the goods and the environment for a while but it was a bit chilly so we packed up and headed out.

I thought about going to a library (once again she loves books) but instead, we headed home because we were both tired. I didn't have anything else planned until dinner so we relaxed and ended up taking a little nap in the hammock in the backyard.

Then, it was dinner time!! I had her get dressed up nice, not that she doesn't always look beautiful, but you know what I mean. We were off to ....... Buca di Beppo!! We had a great meal and got more than we paid for because they messed up the order. This meant that we were plenty full. We still had to get some dessert so we stopped by Braums for some ice cream, which was kind of funny because we were all dressed up nice. After that, we were stuffed so it was back to the house.

When we got there and walked in, the lights were off and "Falling in Love at a Coffee Shop" was playing, which was a song that Haley had me listen to with her over the summer. We then proceeded to the backyard where I had Nancy set up some stations for me. The first one was our cedar medallions and a small white candle, representing how we met. Next was a painting she made for me and a bigger candle, representing our relationship growing. Finally I had a white daisy sitting on a bible and larger candles. I gave the daisy to her and then read her a couple of verses about God's love and how we want to replicate that in our relationship. Then I got down on one knee and asked her if she would want to marry me!!!! She was crying the whole time and said that she didn't even comprehend what I said but she knew what was going on and said YES!!

After a few hugs and kisses we headed inside where her parents and siblings were waiting, and her dad was behind a video camera. Nancy had gotten us a cake, which was amazing, but since we were so stuffed, it was hard to eat... but I managed. Then, we started telling all the friends. She had crazy, loud, exciting phone calls and I cranked out those texts.

It was certainly a day of festivities to remember!

2010-04-07T23:36:00.001-05:00

We're getting married!!