Saturday in Shreveport

Hi Friends and Family! This past Saturday, Lance decided to make some plans for the two of us in Shreveport! We live just over an hour from the middle of Shreveport, so it was a FUN day trip that we enjoyed SO much! They have an outdoor shopping center there called "The Boardwalk" that we have briefly been once when we were previously in the area for Lance's company Christmas party. As soon as we arrived we were starving of course, so we ate at Salt Grass and forgot how truly devine there steaks are! Then, off to the outdoors to shop! Before we left that evening, I really wanted to grub on some true Lousiana food, so we went to Ralph and Kacoos, delicious! I am just starting to make myself enjoy food from the water, and this was really great! We had such a goodtime! Love to all!

This cracked me up since we WEREN'T in Texas! Ha! Love it!

This is too funny! Lance is like a kid in a candy store when it comes to Bass Pro Shop! He wanted to save it for last so we could spend lots of time in there...and trust me we spend LOTS of time in there! Ha! But, he deserves it!! :)

This and That...

So...Lance and I have officially been living in Longview now for just over 3 months. We really love it here! Lance's job is going great, and he finds so much joy in doing something he loves. As a wife, this makes me so happy! As of May 4th, my brain has taken a much needed vacation from hygiene school. The funny thing is last week, Lance and I were relaxing on the couch watching a show and I felt the urge to grab a book to get a head start on for next semester. Seriously, what was I thinking?? Once I realized how ridiculous this was, I immediately put the book back and returned back to the land of relaxation. :) I have really enjoyed the beginning of the summer months! I am still working in the same dental office just part-time for the summer. The girls I work with are so great, I'm super thankful for that! Well...it has been a couple months since our last post, so here are some pictures of what we have been up to lately...Love to all!!

Back in April, Yes April...This was the absolute CUTEST Easter Egg hunt I have ever witnessed in my life! I wish I would have taken a video of this hunt, because It is just indescribable. Our little Niece Haley was the only kid at Lance's parents house for Easter, so she didn't have any one to hunt eggs with. So...Lance being the kid he is at heart made this Easter egg hunt so much fun for her. He carried the basket and he and Haley would sprint from one egg to the next and as soon as Lance saw one, he would scream AS LOUD AS HE COULD out of excitement, then Haley would scream as loud as she could as her little body would shake from screaming and excitement, they would count their eggs in Spanish as they put each one into the basket, and so on and so on. This went on for at least 20 minutes and we were all in tears from laughter. It was the greatest thing to watch! I really really hate that I didn't get a video of it!!

Also in April, my cousin Sherrie turned 40, so we threw her a surprise party! It was so much fun!

The gang showering Mel for Tatum's arrival in only 5 short weeks!! Love these girls!

Look how precious this little face is!! Isabelle is Michelle's little angel, and it is so hard to believe in a matter of 3 weeks, she will be turning 1!

Just a couple weeks ago, at the end of May, we gave my sister, Heather a baby shower. Showers are so much fun, especially baby showers! Emersyn keeps growing everyday, I love her so much already!

For my sister's shower, I thought I would take on a new project. Instead of having a bakery make a cake, I decided to attempt it myself! So...Voila!! Not that I can take all the credit, I have a friend here in Longview who has started this as a hobby and she helped me so much! Thanks Kara! It really was so much fun, and I would love to do it again. I was kind of nervous that the cake was going to be dry because I had to make it a couple days in advance since I was traveling with it, but the fondant sealed all the moisture in. I was quite impressed! :)

This was a gift for my sisters husband at the baby shower. I thought it was so genius! It is a tool belt full of necessities for the dad. It was made up of Tylenol, a face mask to help with the gag reflex when changing the dirty diapers, wipes and many other items that a dad must use and all wrapped up in just his style. Such a great idea, and too funny!

Doug, Lance's brother came to visit for Memorial Day weekend. Good times we had! Lots of cooking out, making smores and the boys played some golf. Thanks for visiting Doug, we enjoyed having you! :)



This weekend my mom and sister came to visit. My mom's 48th birthday was this past Friday, so we had to have cupcakes and a small celebration. Heather and I were laughing just a little too much. We all had such a great time together. We went to Canton on Saturday, OH MAN was it hot!! But, we sweated and laughed and had a great time!

I had to post this picture because it truly just melts my heart! I LOVE this little guy so much!

Until next time...hope everyone is doing well! We love you all!

Oh how the days have FLOWN!

Many really fun things have been happening in our neck of the woods, and I am so sorry the whirlwind has caused the blogging to fall by the way side in the meantime! Lets play catch up...Lance has started a new job, we sold our house, we moved to Longview, Texas, and are now officially settled. This all transpired in a matter of a little less than 2 months. Let me take a few steps back and not leave out the details...We originally moved to Tyler a little less than 2 years ago for Lance's job, which he LOVED. Due to the major crash the oilfield encountered, he was laid off. He was fortunate to find another job right away during such a hard time economically and for that we were thankful. He had high hopes that things would turn around in the oilfield and at some point (hopefully soon:)) he would have the opportunity again to be back with the same company; and...He did!! Right after Christmas, he was offered his job back!! We were so thrilled! The position was not in Tyler, yet, about an hour and 15 minutes further east of Tyler. This required us to move. We were not required to move to the same city, but within a certain radius of that specific area. That brought us to Longview. The journey since the day we found out about the job until now all happened so quickly. We found out we had to move, and we sold our house within 5 days. Praise God! We have some good friends in Tyler that had some friends at their church which were looking for a new home. They came to the house and after looking around decided they wanted to buy our home on a Thursday, we signed papers that next Tuesday and closed 3 weeks later. HOLY MOLY, right?? RIGHT!! We weren't really sure how long it would take to sell the house since the housing market stinks so bad right now, but feel very thankful it was so stress free! We couldn't have sold the house to a better couple! We developed a friendship with them, and even went to eat dinner with them the night we closed. They are so great! They really love the house, and that was my main concern. It was hard leaving that place, we had only been there less than two years, and we had put so much of "us" in there. It was hard walking away, yet very eager and anxious for our next chapter! The transition was so smooth and it was a confirmation for us to know that we were doing the right thing. We often look at each other and say with a little laugh, "do you realize how drastically our life changed in a matter of 8 weeks?" Man, from the time Lance was laid off a year ago to regaining his title merely a month ago, we have learned SO much. As controversial as this may be, I don't believe God "creates" hard times, but I do believe that in the midst of it, he uses those times to mold our character, strength, marriage, faith, and to humbly bring us to our knees reminding us that we are his children and all that we have is his, and all that we need is him. Wow, what a lesson. Hard times aren't necessarily "fun" but we are so grateful for the perspective it put on our life, and humbly thank Him for his sovereignty. Lance and I feel like through this financial "scare", we grew so much as a young married couple, and as crazy as it sounds wouldn't change anything about it. The lesson was so priceless. Whew!! So, that is our life all wrapped up in a nutshell! We are LOVING our new place in Longview, and below are some pics of our new humble abode! Here are a few other updates since the last blog update:

1.) My sister found out she is Pregnant!! She is having a girl!! So excited for Emersyn Rose Kennedy's arrival. She is going to be SO loved! :) She is due August 9th!

2.) One of my besties Melissa is pregnant with her second little precious. She is also having a GIRL!!!! Praise God for such an easy, healthy pregnancy for her. It hasn't always been easy. Tatum Lauren Grimes is due July 17th. Eagerly anticipating her arrival!

3.) This past Friday (March 19th) my mom had part 2 to her mastectomy surgery. This was more reconstruction. She is doing very well! She has one more minimally invasive surgery to come this summer, but not sure on the date yet. She is a strong lady. She's amazing!

4.) I am finishing up the first half of Dental Hygiene School! At the end of April, I will officially be half way done! WHOOHOO!!! It is a very demanding program, but SO much fun! I really look forward to going everyday. I'm a nerd, I realize this. :)

5.) No baby updates from me! :)

6.) Lance has been back with Hughes Christensen for almost 2 months now, and he loves every minute of it! He really enjoys what he is doing.

Now for the pics:

Here She is!

Don't look past that cute little brown thing on the right side of the rug! :)

Kitchen

Kitchen

Living Room

Living Room

Living Room

Master Bedroom. Still looking for the perfect curtains. Anyone have any ideas???

Master Bedroom

Bedroom #1/Media Room

Bedroom #1 that we are using as a media room. Walls are still lacking a little...

Bedroom #2

Bedroom #2

Our partially completed patio. Much more to come!

This big 'ole pot is my green thumb project. I am really wanting to plant some hydrangeas! Love those!!

PROMISE PROMISE PROMISE to post SOON!!!

Our life has been like a whirlwind these last couple months! A GREAT whirlwind, but nonetheless, still a whirlwind for sure! :) I promise to update about our life soon!
Love to all!!

We are still breathing!!

So many of you have been asking, "where have you been?", "you haven't blogged in so long". Guilty! Apologies! Since my post about Mayer's birthday, I have been buried in my books studying for the end of the semester. As of last Wednesday, first semester...DOWN!! My first semester was pretty intense. Lots of studying, lots of planning, and wouldn't have made it without proper time management. But, all in all, it was much less stressful than I had previously anticipated. It was fun, but I am glad to be a 1/4 of the way done! Lance in the meantime has been the best encourager I have. I'm lucky to have him! Below are some pics of what we have been up to within the last month or so. No more long breaks from blogging. We love it too much. Oh and did I mention, that I am going to be an AUNT?!?!?!!? My sister just announced last week that she is pregnant and is expecting in August!!!! I am so excited!!!

At the Beginning of November, My dad took Lance on a hunt in South Texas. They had a blast, and they both got the deer they wanted. They want to make this an annual thing. We will see...:)

At the Stars game with the Grimes Family. Cade just celebrated his 1st birthday. We love this little man!

Mel, Cade and I. Cade was so good at the game! All he wanted was a cookie and some ice, and he was a happy camper!

I love this picture! Lance loves Cade.

Jennifer and Her husband Mike are a couple we hang out with regularly here in Tyler. We met them a few months ago. They are in our community group at church. We love these guys. We have a lot of fun together!

The girls in our community group got together one night during the week and had a wreath making party. I had been wanting to make one, and we have a lady named Alissa that is a wreath making queen! I am in love with my wreath. Thanks for your help Alissa! We had a blast!

Here are the girls in wreath making action. It really was a fun night. Now that I've gotten one under my belt, It's time to make a fall wreath too!

Isabelle joined us for our girls Christmas party this past Friday night at Mel's. We love all the little additions that have joined our circle of friends. We love them like they are our own.

We needed a picture of all of us together at the party, so we set the timer on the camera and placed it on top of the tv. That was quite the chore. It felt like we took a hundred pics before we finally got all 8 of us in one pic together. Ha!

So we gave up on the timer and got as close as we could and snapped a photo of ourselves. We did lots of laughing that night. These girls are the absolute best!!

My mom, Sister and I also went to see the Radio City Spectacular featuring the Rockettes this past Sunday in Grand Prairie. I have no pics :(. But, if you love musicals and you love Christmas, this is a MUST see. It really is one of the best I have seen! There is a live nativity production as the last scene of the musical and it is breathtaking, reminding us of the real reason for Christmas. Enjoy your Christmas season! We love you all! More to come soon.

Guess Who Turned 2 Today!?!?!?!?!

Have you tried this?????

Yes...this broom is standing up on its OWN!!!!



Ok...this blows my mind! If you haven't tried this, supposedly, there is only a few more days that this will be able to happen until the next go around in 50 years. Many of you may have already of heard about this, but here is my uneducated, yet really impressed attempt to describe what is going on. I didn't research why this is happening, so this is all hear say, I know it has something to do with the moon or gravity or something??? Ha! I promise I am educated...just not on the moon, earth and gravitational forces. So...whether it makes sense or not, HURRY, put everything down, grab your kitchen broom, stand it up outside and watch it stay! It's amazing! Good Luck!!