Festive Fun

Happy Halloween! Some of my favorite childhood memories are from Halloween and even now I get excited to go home and pass out candy to all of the cute trick or treaters. It's also been fun to experience the holiday with my nieces this year. Keira is going as Minnie Mouse and Micah's a little bumble bee. Keira came over last night after trunk or treat to "practice" trick or treating. I think she's got it.

me and my littlest niece. aren't baby micah's eyes to die for?

me and the nieces at trunk or treat.

trick or treat aunt ashy!

Minnie!

Justin and I also continued our oh-so-original tradition of carving pumpkins. We showed off our school spirit this year. Letters are tricky; I think we'll stick to jack-o-lantern faces next year.

that interlocking BU is tricky (pun intended)

justin's in progress

ta da. sic 'em!

my ever so school spirited display

Drumroll please...

Now cue the sound of cymbals clanging. Or crickets. I am sad to report that I did not meet my 29X29 goal. I made it halfway. I lost 15.5 pounds before my 29th birthday. I'm sure I erased that .5 with all of the cake I consumed last weekend, so it's probably an even 15 at this point. Ha. While I didn't make my goal, I'm definitely not stopping. I am now back to what I would call my normal size, so I'm not sad. I just have a bit loftier goals now.

I know I could have reached my goal if I had been a bit more disciplined, but I had a fantastic summer, so no regrets here. I'm back into my skinny jeans, so I count that as a win. More to come.

Here's a sort of before and after. Brace yourselves. The photo on the left was taken last year at the Baylor vs TCU game and the photo on the right was taken at this year's game. Read: photo on the left was me 21 pounds heavier. Ick. I lost a few pounds last spring, so I didn't start my 29X29 quite as heavy as last fall, and I've lost a few more pounds since September when this photo was taken, but to me this shows a nice positive change. For the record, I was at my all-time heaviest last fall/winter. I have no idea why, but I'd like to think it was just simply being in love...


 



2010



2011



and here's one taken last Saturday night

A Texas-Sized Tradition

Mom and dad took us "kids" to the Texas State Fair a few weeks ago and we had the best time. This is a tradition for my family and one of many that I cherish! Justin has come to love this tradition too. We both had it on our calendars for months! At the fair we do pretty much everything there is to do - minus the rides - too dangerous ;) As I recall, we started going when Alf was on the air and Ronald Reagan was President. (Anyone remember Alf? That was one of our favorites). We haven't missed many fairs since then, if any. I remember scheduling my fall trip home when I was in college around the fair! Ha. Anyway, we had a great time as usual. Thank you mom and dad for making our childhoods so special and continuing that into adulthood! We love it and both of you!

me in my gameday gear with my fried s'more

j in his gameday gear with his buttered corn

i helped dad with his traditional belgian waffle too

us!

can't leave without a pic of Big Tex!

Wondering how all of the fried food affected my 29 X 29 challenge? I'll tell you next week ;)

David Murphy

via

The one bright spot in an otherwise horrendous weekend for my sports teams was the Texas Rangers earning a spot in the World Series for the second year in a row. Incredible. I heart the Rangers and my favorite player is David Murphy. He's a Baylor alum, graduated the year I did and he's a pretty clutch player too. What I love most about him though is not the fact that he bleeds green and gold, or the fact that the Rangers are 5-0 when he starts and 1-2 when he doesn't. No, the reason I love Murph is the fact that he has a heart for Christ and openly shares his faith. He uses his fame and talent to share God's love. What an example. Here's his story in case you haven't seen it:

"I want to win and I want to succeed. I am passionate about the game of baseball and when you are passionate about something, you desire to be successful. I’ve lived baseball since pretty much the day I was born. I’ve loved it since I was 2 or 3 years old. It would be great if everyone knew me as David Murphy the all star, or David Murphy the World Series champion. I would love to be all those things and everything that comes with them; but if I set my priorities straight, I would love to be looked at as David Murphy, the man of God.

I pray during the national anthem before each game and one of the things that I pray is that I am playing for His glory. Baseball is a difficult game and it can drive you crazy. It can create a lot of worry, but in the end there is confidence in Him or there is fear, and I pick the confidence in Him.

I don’t have to worry about going 0 for 4 or having a terrible game or being in a slump, because that’s not the big picture or the most important thing. God blessed me with this talent for a reason, and the game of baseball should be my ministry. Why not use every opportunity you can to spread the word?

A lot of people come to Jesus because they are at crossroads in their lives or something devastating happens, but that wasn’t the case for me.  I just knew I had a hole in my heart and I figured out that the only thing that could fill that void was Jesus.  At first I thought my testimony was my story about how I was saved and that night and praying the prayer; but the more I grow in Christ, the more I realize that my testimony is my life.
My name is David Murphy and I am Second."

http://www.iamsecond.com/seconds/david-murphy/

Pumpkin Picking

Like everyone else on the planet, fall is without question my favorite. I just love everything that it entails. The pumpkin patch is one of those things, and we got to go with my nieces last Friday night. Matt was out of town with his youth group, so we helped corral (and wear out) the girls for my sister. I also snagged a few pumpkins for my front porch fall-scape. Justin will probably never understand why it takes me a billion years to pick out the per.fect. pumpkin. I am pretty particular about the color, shape and size of my pumpkins. And they have to have stems, preferably nice and curly. For all of those concerned, I found the perfect pumpkins. I happen to think Hall's Pumpkin Farm has the best and they didn't disappoint. It was the perfect fall night. Life is good. Amen.

keira was pretty particular about her pumpkins too.

aimee and baby micah

us!

cutie and her perfect pumpkin

aimee and her girls

All things Avery

I can't believe I've been blogging for almost a year and never devoted a post to my fur baby, Avery. Sweet baby Avery. Or Aves. Or Avesy. Or Snowflake as Justin calls him. Anyway, I'm linking up with Kelly's Korner again, because I just had to devote a little piece of my online ramblings to Avery. I got Avery a month after I moved into my house, nearly five years ago. Smart move, yes. I knew I wanted a dog, and figured why not go ahead and get all of the chaos out of the way in one fell swoop. So, I brought little three month old Avery home to an array of boxes, fresh paint fumes and all sorts of visitors.

I actually wanted a girl dog. I didn't want any of the aggressive, marking their territory sort of dog. I looked online for about a week, searching for the perfect little schnauzer. I knew I wanted a schnauzer because of their no shedding, hypo-allergenic goodness. And they are very smart and easy to train. Check and check. I found a breeder in Saginaw and when I called to inquire, found out that they only had two boys left. I decided just to go and look. I wasn't going to bring one home. I really wanted a girl. You know how this story ends. I was sold the minute I walked through the door and Avery came bounding over with his teeny little body and over sized paws, jumped in my lap and licked me in the face. True love.

Turns out, schnauzers are very smart. Avery likes to show off his tricks when visitors come to see him. He knows most of his toys by name, will walk into his crate room on command, was easily housebroken and is the best cuddler. True to his heritage, he can be hyper. And he has the worst scream (sounds like a small child) that he makes if I go out to check the mail without him or if he gets upset. He loves to give kisses, which most find sweet, others (aka my mother) find disgusting. Don't worry, Avery knows that grandma doesn't dig his sweet kisses. They're cool. And it's fine because I love them and Avery definitely knows that. He can kiss on command. So that's a little bit about my sweet Avery if anyone cares to know.

Fun fact: Avery was named after the former coach of the Dallas Mavericks, Avery Johnson. I adore Avery Johnson and my Avery shares the same "dirty stash" as the famous coach. Avery was the perfect name.

Funnier fact. Justin made a comment the other day that when we get married the circle will be complete. Avery will finally become Avery Johnson. (Justin's last name is Johnson of course). Haha. We are both excited for that day. Someday.

The 411 on Avery:
Loves his Pig
Hates squirrels
Favorite treat = ice
Loves grandma and grandpa
Not a fan of his cousins (sadly, it's mostly jealousy) ;)
Best friends with Freddy and Jack
Sometimes goes by the Alias Spike
Hates costumes and any form of clothing
Loves the Baylor Bears
Hates baths
Loves walks
Loves the Paw Spa
Tolerates the vet
Loves Fort Woof
Hates trick or treaters

He's Not Perfect

And neither am I. Clearly. He is perfect for me and for that I am abundantly thankful. Amen.

Stolen from my friend Tamara's blog and originally found here.