Friday's Five

It has been way too long since my last Friday post.

Things are finally starting to slow down around here (at least for this week)

and I'm hoping to get on another blogging spree,

and catch up with some of the things we have been up to.

There is no better way to do that than to summarize the past few months into 5 main points.

1) Feeling Fresh

Hydrangeas are my absolute favorite.

Especially fresh ones.

And even more when they are in my new white pitcher. 

2) Welcome Wreath

I made this little wreath for Claire's most recent wedding shower.

For her and Trey to hang on their door and welcome people into their new home.

Did I mention that I love hydrangeas??

3) Celebrations for Claire

Did I also mention how much I love this girl??

Her wedding day is getting so close, and I am getting more and more excited!!

This picture is from her shower at Memorial,

where her and Trey opened gifts for an hour and a half without stopping.

They are already so blessed, and I know their marriage will be too.

4) Wedding Wishes

This was the most special gift given at Claire's shower.

A note written by her late Nana, sending her beautiful wedding wishes

from many years ago.

So special.

5) Gangstas

This is currently one of my favorite pictures.

Michael is just adorable.

He is one good-looking gangster.

Happy Weekend!!

Which Character Are You??

Unless you've been living under a rock, you've seen the Zimbio quizzes spreading around facebook like wildfire.

Which Disney Princess are you?

Which Star Wars character are you?

I can't remember which one drew me in, but once I started I couldn't stop.

I must say, I am pretty happy with my results:

^^Who doesn't want to be the Queen Bee?

"People fear you, but you kind of like it that way" is my favorite (and possibly most true) line.

 ^^I don't mind this one I guess.

Besides the character, this description probably fits me the best out of them all.

^^Umm, YES!

I've been wishing I was Hermione since I was in the 7th Grade.

I can't decide if I like the first line or the last line best!

^^I might have cheered out loud when I got this one.

Yes, sometimes I'm more of a Christina, but in my heart I want to be Meredith.

I mean, she got McDreamy!

Want to take some quizzes for yourself?

Click here.

Its quick, easy and worth the time.

Except the Disney Princess one...I got Mulan.

Is she even a Princess??

*All questions on my quizzes were answered truthfully.

Each quiz was only taken once.

 And yes, this is what I do with my time...judge away.

Jiminy Cricket

I know I just did an entire post dedicated to our Disney World visit,

but I had to share this little video I did of the closing fireworks.

*If you follow me on Instagram, this is a repeat.

It's just too magical not to share.

IMG 5002 from Brittany Johns on Vimeo.

Looking Back at 2013

I posted a collage on Instagram already, but I wanted to take some time to share some of my favorite memories from 2013.

It was an incredibly blessed year!

And I am already looking forward to 2014 being even better.

I can't wait to see what God will do in our lives, and how he will change us this year.

^^ Sister got married and it was perfect!

See the full story here.

^^ Michael and I shared our first dance EVER!

It was also perfect...perfectly awkward.

But the picture came out great!

^^ I spent an entire month studying, shed lots of tears, and finally 6 weeks and 5 day later,

I got the letter that said PASS.

^^ We found our first bluebonnets!

If we claimed it, we would officially be Texans on this day.

But we don't.

Oklahomans forever!

 ^^ I got to spend an entire week with my Mom in May!

We shopped, we relaxed, and we threw parties.

It was awesome!

^^ I graduated in May and my whole family came to see me walk across the stage!

It was so special to have them all here!

Probably my favorite memory!

 ^^ I joined this wonderful group as an official Marriage and Family Therapist!

Couldn't have asked for a better place to work,

or better people to do it with!

^^ The day we took more pictures with people we don't know than ever before!

And later found ourselves on some rando's facebook page!

Perfect!

^^ I painted the hallway, and almost died.

But now it looks great!

^^ I went on the trip of a lifetime with some of my most favorite people!!

It was the most Diva weekend I've ever lived, and I loved every minute!

^^ We also saw Celine Dion in concert while in Vegas.

You can't top that!

^^ My bestie got engaged!!!
And we threw her a surprise party.
No one has a better surprised face than Claire!

^^ Michael's favorite memory of the year.

Century Link stadium in Seattle.

 ^^ We checked another state off of our list when we went to Oregon to see Multnomah Falls.

It was breathtaking!

^^ And we drank coffee from the first Starbucks.

^^ Michael got asked to officiate his 2nd wedding!

We love this couple and can't wait to watch them say 'I do!'

^^ We spent a weekend at the river with this crew!

It was a blast!!

^^ This post wouldn't be complete without mentioning the JV Youth!

We have had a wonderful year working and growing with them!

^^ We ended the year with some beautiful pictures of our family.

I am so happy that we have these pictures to remember this stage in our lives.

The stage where the most important thing to us is our puppy.

And where we just get to spend lots of time together.

It is a blessed life that we have!

Postcard Party

Before we went on our trip to the Northwest I found a great idea on Pinterest.

Someone had captioned the photo before I found it, and I loved the idea.

I would give the original blog credit, but the idea is no where on the blog, so I will just credit the genius who pinned it first.

I was determined to do this while we were on our trip.

The first day we were in Seattle I bought some postcards, addressed them to our home address, and each night I would write out the things we did that day.

Okay, I wrote 3 of them the last day right before leaving our hotel, but I got them done, so it still counts.

Our hotel was so nice and provided the ability for me to buy postage and mail them.

I'll admit, it was a little weird to send 5 postcards to myself,

which is why I only wrote my last name, just in case the hotel staff looked at the address.

Once we got home, I could not wait for them to arrive!

2 of them arrived one day, the other 3 the next. 

It was so fun to read them and have a summary of each day from our trip!

It also helped me to remember some details when blogging later.

It is an easy, creative, and inexpensive way for anyone to document their vacation.

I plan to do this for every trip we go on in the future!

Beautiful Mess

Every now and then I come across an app that I love, and have to share with you.

Beautiful Mess photo app is that app.

I am so obsessed with it right now.

Unfortunately, its not one of the free apps, but the good news is that it only costs 99 cents.

It is completely worth it.

It takes your photos and allows you to add borders, doodles, words, and filters.

*Beautiful Mess does not allow you to add multiple pictures in one photo.

I made a collage of my Beautiful Mess photos on PicFrame, so that I didn't have to upload 8 different photos. #lazy

The Power of YouTube

Every couple needs a good cruise YouTube every once in awhile.

It all started for us with a simple statement from Michael about Akon being in the song, It Wan't Me.

Well, if Akon were here he would say "It wasn't me" because he was not in that song.

However, the statement led to a little dance party when I played Right Now, by Akon.

(You should know, I love this song!)

Was it a little after midnight? Yes.

Was I already in bed? Yes.

Did that stop us? NO!

From there I went to YouTube to show Michael the really annoying diamond song by Rhianna,

but I never made it there because I got sidetracked by the Popular page.

Some of these are pretty awesome, so I thought I would share.

First, there is the juggling-Rubix-cube-solving guy, first posted on Fabebook for my watching by our friend Trey.

(Please excuse the language)

Next, there was this video of the most gigantic rope swing ever.

I was scared just watching.

You may also want to watch this video of the same rope swing.

Just to get a better idea of what it actually is.

 

Somehow from there it went to the Les Mis performance from the Oscars,

which led to this video of the wonderful Jennifer Lawrence.

You should go ahead and watch more videos of her from the Oscars,

because they are all completely hilarious!

Then there is this gem that has been floating around the fashion blogs.
Too funny! And sad at the same time!

 

Lastly, I had to see what this screaming goat business was all about.

Its just as weird and scary as I thought.

But this is getting funnier with each view.

 

There you have it.

Hope you have enjoyed this little look into our lives.

We are so interesting, I know!

Love is in the Air

I just love Valentine's Day.

Everyone wears shades of pink, red, and purple.

There are flowers and candy everywhere.

And everyone talks in poem...at least on their statuses.

Its a very mushy day, and I love every minute.

I also love this new app that I found - Red Stamp.

Its a greeting card maker.

You can make free little cards and send them to people via text, email, or social media.

Who wouldn't want a text greeting card on a happy-lovey day like today.

Hope your heart is full of love today, and that you share some of it with someone special!!

Best Moments of 2012

As this year comes to an end, I wanted to take some time to look back on 2012.

The year seemed to go really fast, but we managed to fit several major events into it.

2012 brought us: 

happiness and fulfillment in our work with the teens 

illness (I managed to spend 2 whole months with bronchitis this year) 

sadness and pain as we worked through life's struggles with family members

celebration when Bailey and Jon got engaged

frustration as we adjusted to our new schedules once I started working

sweet memories with both old and new friends

joy and love when we were able to visit family, and even more when they came to visit us

and so many blessings from friends, family, and even strangers that we could not begin to count.

Harry Potter World with KK in January

Spending the weekend with the Aggies from AFC

And getting to meet this beautiful soul - Joe

Meeting our new niece Kayley in March and spending time with her sisters

Buying a new car with insurance money. Taking it back 2 days later. Using my "Velvet Hammer" skills to get us Gramps

Beach day with Bailey and Jon...slash just their whole visit in March

Hosting my first Mother-Daughter Tea for the Juniors and Seniors in May

Celebrating my Grandpa's 80th with all the Baird cousins in June

Signing the papers to buy our first home in June

Replacing the living room floors in our new home

Our first mission trip to Foster's Children's Home in July (which is now a yearly trip)

Celebrating 4 years with this guy at the Lion King in August

Texas State Fair with two of our favorites in October

Thanksgiving with the Bairds in November

Perhaps my favorite moment of 2012 - Youth Retreat in December

Hosting a personal shower for Sister with these girls in December

Free trip to Las Vegas in December

Christmas with the Johns in December

2012 was a great year, with many ups and downs.

Already I know that 2013 will bring my MFT Exam (hopefully I will pass the first time) graduation, Sister's wedding, several cousin's weddings, and hopefully a real, grown up, full-time job for me.

I'm already excited and anxious just thinking about it!

Happy New Years to you all, and may God bless you richly in 2013!