College Visit

Every fall Michael takes time to visit our JV Youth alumni at their various universities.

Last weekend if was College Station!

We have 3 kids there, and we got to take 2 of them to dinner, along with one of the boys from camp this summer. 

Of course, we couldn't and wouldn't go to College Station and not see Claire and Trey, 

so they joined us too.

We ate at a delicious place called Koppe Bridge, where you can eat the best fried pickle spears in the world, and carve you initials in the table.

 We also took a few of our high school girls because they missed their BFF.

We had so much fun spending time with all the college kids.

It was way too short, but so wonderful!

*On a related note: Texas A&M University is HUGE!

Like, gigantic.

My little OC self was not prepared for the vastness of campus, or the large quantities of people walking around.

I would not make it.

Man of the House

Last month, in this post, I wrote about the generosity of the youth group parents,

and yesterday, we got to pick up our gift.

We have been wanting a chair, or recliner to go in our living room for quite a while.

We really needed the extra seating, 

and Michael wanted a "man of the house" chair.

We looked around a little bit at Home Goods, but didn't find anything we loved.

Then I remembered that when we ordered our couches, there was also a chair in the set.

Lucky for us, there were still a few left!

We love it, and Buster loves it (he has a clear view of the front door)

We did have to change the set up of the living room a little bit, 

but we are pretty happy with the outcome.

We felt overwhelmed by the generosity of the parents the day they gave us the gift, 

and will continue to feel blessed every time we sit in our new chair.

God has truly blessed us with amazing support through our parents and teens, and we could not be happier.

Real Life

Sometimes I get annoyed by modern phrases.

For instance: 

1) Yolo - You Only Live Once. 

Obviously, but why do you have to keep pointing it out? 

2) Smh - Shaking my head

Are you really shaking your head?

I didn't think so.

3)Is this real life?

No. You're in a dream. Like Inception.

Of course its real life!

Today I had an "Is this real life" moment though.

There was really no other statement that could cover how I was feeling.

It really doesn't seem like real life in Houston.

But I am loving it, and I hope it continues!

*I also get really annoyed by screenshots of the weather app, 

but that's for a different post!

I guess sometimes the only way to express oneself is through modern annoyances.

And yes, I am calling the post (and myself) annoying.

But only today.

OC Alumni

Yesterday was a very busy day for us.

First, it was my Dad's birthday!

We didn't get to see him, and barely got to talk to him, but we were celebrating with him in spirit!

We love you Dad!

It was also a very OC type of day.

We had Dr. Alan Martin, the Dean of Biblical Studies, leading our church's Family Enrichment Seminar this weekend.

He did such an excellent job, and we learned so much!

Of course, we can only apply the parenting ideas to Buster right now, 

but it was still very enlightening and helpful. 

Lastly, we went to the Meet the President event at Memorial yesterday afternoon.

Of course, we have already met the President...

(He was Michael's boss when he worked in Advancement, and I was his student worker my last 1.5 years at OC)

and we could not be happier about his new position at OC!

He is going to do a great job, and we know that OC is in good hands!

We also got these new t-shirts at the event.

 I never considered myself a Texan.

And I really don't know if I can, but I'm always up for a free t-shirt!

We also love when we get to go to Memorial for an event.

Whether its an OC event, or a youth event, or a church service - Memorial was our first home here in Houston, and all the people there have a special place in our hearts.

It was nice to be able to catch up with a few people while we were there.

It was a long, crazy, wonderful day, that would have been perfect if I were not in 4 inch heels.

Friday Night Lights

Last year, some of the kids in our youth group put together a monthly event for the kids. 

It is called Friday Night Lights.

It takes place every first Friday of the month, and there is pizza, a fun activity, 

and a boys/girls Bible study. 

This past Friday we went to Pump It Up and it was so much fun!

It is a huge place, full of inflatables.

I loved it.

It was also great to see so many kids show up to spend time together on their Friday night.

I was never that kid.

Mostly because I was involved in every single sport, and if not playing a sport, I was with my friends. 

Plus, we lived a good distance from the church, so it was difficult to get there after my activities.

Anyways, it is so encouraging to see so many kids wanting to spend time with other Christians.

Here are some pictures of the night:

Wishing for Fall

I'm to the point where I am just over the hot temperatures.

Whenever I get to this point, I like to make my house look like fall has arrived,

while praying that the decor will bring in some cooler temps.

Unfortunately, it doesn't usually work out in my favor.

*Last year I got to this point and made this wreath.

That was at the end of September.

Not a good sign.

Friday I dressed up our dining table a little bit, and added a touch of fall.

Don't those flowers just make you so happy?

And they were half off at Hobby Lobby, which made Michael happy!

On Saturday, Michael and I both had the entire day with nothing on the schedule.

God bless days like this!

Michael decided to clean out some closets and make order of the mess we made when we moved in over a year ago.

And I decided to make a new fall wreath for the front door.

I saw this one on Pinterest a couple of weeks ago, and have been drooling ever since.

It is from this site, and currently selling for $85.

Um, that's not going to happen.

Especially when it is something that looks that easy to make.

I love it though.

Mostly because it is made of hydrangeas, and they are my favorite right now.

Like I said, the florals at Hobby Lobby were on sale, so it was the perfect time to DIY this wreath.

However, even with the 50% off, the flowers were still $3 each.

So, I did not get as many as the wreath in the picture.

I just got 2 of each color ($18) and it worked out just fine!

Here is how to make it:

 

I started with a plain, grapevine wreath my mom had given me last spring.

First, I laid out the flowers around the wreath, just to make sure it would cover.

 Next, I took the flowers and leaves off of the sticks.

The leaves were easy - the flowers a little tricky.

I discovered that it works best when you leave about 1/4 inch of stick attached to the flower.

This gives you something to put in between the vines of the wreath, 

while keeping the flower from looking smashed. 

If you do end up pulling the flower right off the stick, just be sure to hot glue the two parts together before gluing to the wreath.

Now you will need a hot glue gun. 

I've had mine since college and I use it for EVERYTHING!

Make your way around the wreath gluing each flower into place.

*I kept mine sitting next to the wreath while I glued, so I would leave enough space.

Once all the flowers are glued on, you can start filling in the blank spots with leaves.

Last is the ribbon/bow.

You can do this a few different ways.

If you have a door hanger (like the original Pinterest photo) you can just cut as much burlap as you need and tie it in a bow about the hanger's hook.

I do not have a door hanger, and I didn't want to spend money on one,

so I just stuck with my trusty Command hook, upside down on the inside of the door.

*This also prevents theft, if you're worried about that.

 I measured the burlap (4 inch ribbon), and tied it at the end to hang on the hook.

Then I took another piece of buralp, and cut it in half lengthwise.

I tied this piece of material in a bow around the hanging burlap, after I had hung it on the door.

Yep, that's me in the window - embarrassing!

That's it!

Isn't it simple?

Altogether it only cost me between $20-25 because I already had the wreath.

That's about a quarter the cost of the one on Etsy!

Which makes me love it even more!

Happy (almost) Fall to you all!!

Labor Day in OK

Last weekend Michael and I took a trip to Oklahoma.

We both had Friday and Monday off, and we were excited to spend some time with his family.

We got in to Tulsa Friday night in time for dinner at Hideaway. 

It was delicious, and we got to hold this sweetie!

 And Buster got to spend time with his two favorite little girls.

 Unfortunately, Michael's parents' A/C went out last week, and it was a little warm.

Especially for our black little fuzz ball,

so we spent a lot of time at Grandma Moore's house.

Buster absolutely loved it!

He loved Grandma Moore, and he really loved his new friend Daisy.

 We are so thankful for the time that we got to spend with Delphine, and even more thankful for her hospitality and love. 

Saturday night we had dinner with Michael's other grandparents, which I got no pictures of,

but I did get a great picture of us with the girls.

We can't believe how fast these girls are growing up.

We love them so much, and really enjoyed the time that we got to spend with them.

Hope you all had a wonderful long weekend as well!