Mrs. Lindsi Norris!!

First of all...just look at me updating my blog the weekend after the event...I think I'm turning a new leaf...

So this past weekend we flew home to Dallas to celebrate Mr. and Mrs. Matt Norris! The weekend was filled with great friends, great food and a great couple. We basically hit the ground running. On Friday I spent some time with the bride just doing a few odds and ends and then some time shopping with Monica. Here is Chris and I headed out to the rehearsal... They got married at the Irving Arts Center which was just gorgeous. There was a beautiful fountain in the background and lots of sculptures.

I mean...who even knows?

Me and my groomsment partner, Kyle. We gave eachother baseball hand signals when it was time to exit.

The wedding day started bright and early with manicures and pedicures! It was a really fun relaxing way to start the day and get to spend some good time together : ) Here is the bride and her MOH.

Manicures...check! Pedicures...check! We are ready for hair and makeup!

After our nails and toes we headed to the bride's mother in law's house to get ready all together...

Monica and I were jammin out in our bathroom getting ready...

We made it to the arts center just in time to set up for the reception and get dressed for our pictures!

All dressed and ready to go!

Adorable Monica.

It was my turn to walk in!

Here comes the bride! Lindsi had both her mom and dad escort her down the isle which was really special.

We danced the night away. I'm pretty sure Monica never left the dance floor. She was committed.

It was a beautiful weekend, celebrating a beautiful couple. So I wonder who's going to be next...?

Life Lately...

Wow...hello and good bye April. We have been so, so busy. We had a birthday (mine), a wedding, and we certainly have a growing puppy in our house! Here are some pics of our life lately...
My beautiful flowers from my husband on my birthday!

Bear wanted to help open my gift...


a Vera Bradley tote bag! Way to go hubs...

Out to dinner at Red Lobster (Yes we were there with lots of senior citizens, but I just love that place!)

We went home for my brothers wedding...I think Bear was ready to leave...

Steven with his Best Man, Taylor

Steven and Jenny Penland!

Here we are right before we headed out to the wedding. So funny story...when I checked the weather before we packed it was supposed to be "cooler" and a little rainy the day of the outdoor wedding. Well it was actually about 35 and rainy. Let me tell you how "cute" I looked in my spring dress and sandals. At least I brought some leggings...

Just this week Chris and I went to a church planting conference in Orlando. I know, we were suffering for the Lord. We had a really great time listening to all the speakers and going to the workshops. It was a very encouraging time for both of us and a much needed getaway! We didn't have a ton of time to do a lot of fun stuff, but we did get to go down Universal Drive one night on the trolley and eat dinner at the Crab House. Maybe next year we can stay a little longer and go to Disney World!

I'll try not to let another month and a half go by without posting again...but I mean who can really promise that!

Welcome to our World...

So Chris and I have stepped into the world of pre-parenthood. We got a puppy last week! His name is Bear and he is a Chocolate Lab. We love him so much already. We have now had him one full week, which feels like about 10 years. Here are some things we've noticed about him so far:
- He sleeps alot (except at night).
- He is very playful in the mornings. Definitely a morning dog.
- Playing fetch comes naturally.
- He growls in his sleep.
- He is learning so quickly about housetraining. (Only had a few accidents).
- He doesn't really understand discipline. He thinks its the greatest game ever.

One of the funniest things is each morning when Chris wakes up. All I hear for about 10 minutes until he gets dressed is "OWW!!! Ouch Bear!! Owww!!!!" Apparently Bear likes biting Chris's legs, fingers, toes, arms...etc until he gets all his clothes on. We're working on this...

Things you need...

When you are on your 3rd snow day off from school...

All necessities here...obviously. A warm bowl of tortilla soup.

And a warm husband to snuggle up on the couch with and watch movies.
(Movies Watched include: Up, Fiddler on the Roof, Emma, and The Proposal)

So we went back to school this week on Monday for a teacher work day, the kids came back on Tuesday and we have been home ever since. In a way its just like a realllly long "winter break". We have made it out of our apartment once to go to the grocery store to get some more "necessities" but other than that we have been just hanging out and trying to stay warm. We did take down all of our Christmas decorations on the first snow day and I did clean this place pretty well but there is just only so much cleaning you can do.

One exciting thing that has happened is Chris throwing his leather glove into the dumpster while throwing the trash over last night. (Now, don't forget we're in the single digits with wind chills in the negative teens). If it was me I would have shed some tears, called it a loss and marched myself to Target for a new pair. But not my husband : ) So Chris comes back in, tells me he lost his glove and immediately begins fashioning a retreiving device to go BACK into the cold to get his glove. Here are some pictures to document the "incident":

The good news is...HE GOT IT! The bad news his he almost fell into the dumpster while trying to get it.

Snowed In!

Well sort of...it is snowing, on top of all the snow we came home to ( I think about 8 inches) and we are too chicken to get out and go anywhere. So for us that equals...snowed in!!

I have been updating the blog all morning...3 new posts to prove it!!Chris wanted to get the snow off our patio table.. his tool of choice, our dust pan.

Thankfully we ran all our errands yesterday so we can just lazy around in our jammies today and enjoy the snow!!

White Christmas in Texas

Chris and I had a wonderful Christmas at home with our families. We even had snow on Christmas!! These pictures are backwards....so we'll just start that way and work our way forward!

In Houston, Abby and Jillian helping Grandma make angel biscuits

Jinga was a hit!! We played many many times, I wasn't so good at it...


Getting ready to open presents on Christmas in Houston.

Passing out presents to the little cousins. They were SO excited!

Getting ready to head to Houston for a few days...(see they are all backwards)

Chris opening his stocking at the Branigans house on Christmas morning. No stocking is complete without Texas shaped peanut brittle.

This is what we woke up to on Christmas morning...in TEXAS. It was my first white Christmas in my entire 24 years.

Christmas morning at the Branigans.

Chris opening his Bible Glo from my parents on Christmas Eve.

Rizzo played in the snow so she was getting warm and dry from Steven and Jenny.

Christmas Eve at the Penlands...snowing!!

Taylor, Kathy and Chris eating Christmas Eve dinner.

Dad, Jenny and Taylor eating Christmas Eve dinner.

Chris and I on Christmas Eve before heading to my house.

Dianna and I decided to make puppy chow! Good decision because puppy chow is so yummy...bad decision because once you make it you have to eat it!

So there are some pictures from our Christmas adventure in Texas. We had a great time being with our families in Arlington and Houston. We enjoyed many meals and laughs together and can't wait to be home again soon.

Teachers in Tacky Sweaters

Crazy I know...teachers never wear things that are tacky.

We had our 2nd annual Tacky "Holiday" Sweater party on our last day of school before the break. We had a half day and went to lunch at Cactus Grill. My class gave me lots of wonderful cooking goodies from Williams Sonoma which I can't wait to use!!

Shelley and I...spreading the Christmas Cheer

Me, Becky and Shelley