Texas!

Last week was a week I had been highly anxious about for sometime.  One of Chris' close friends from undergrad popped the question to a fine lady a while back and their wedding date was set for March 16.  Chris was asked to be in the wedding and I immediately went into panic mode about leaving or taking Henry with us.  My loving husband convinced me it would be best for us to leave Henry with the grandparents and enjoy a little time away.  As the time drew near, we compromised a little.  Chris drove down on Wednesday before the wedding in order to enjoy some golfing and guy time.  I flew down on Friday and met up with everyone for the rehearsal, had the day to myself on Saturday until the wedding and we drove home together on Sunday.  Here is a brief synopsis of the long weekend...

Since Chris took the newer car down to Texas, Henry and I were left with the Mustang for a couple of days.  Whewy, a two door car and a car seat are not my idea of fun!  But, I got to look back at this sweet face at stop lights.

We attended a baby shower of a sweet friend on Thursday evening.  I was exhausted by this time and needed to get out of the house a little before the shower.  So, I strapped Henry into his Beco carrier and we headed to TJ Maxx to look around.  He had never faced forward and loved it!! 

No pictures of the rehearsal dinner.  It was delicious though and nice to catch up with Whitney and Ryan.  I could sit and talk to Whitney for hours!! (I'm sure anyone could though) Hilarious, sweet lady!  I ventured out into Dallas afterwards on my own to a hotel for one that evening.  King size bed all to myself!!!  I slept terribly though. 

I was pretty pumped to have a day to myself on Saturday, not gonna lie.  Had full intentions of going to Ikea, HOWEVER all the local guys told me it was an hour drive (Mapquest said 26 minutes, we will never know who was correct).  I opted to stay close rather than driving out to an unknown territory to a place I could really go crazy at.  My fear was I would be sucked into Ikea wonderfulness and seeing as how the house is still on the market and we have no idea where we will be next, house decorative items are really a no go right now.  So, Wirth suggested a fun mall I hit up and boy did I hit it up!!!  The place was huge and so fun!  Wish I had a girlfriend there to enjoy it with, but venturing around with no agenda was nice.

The mall had one of these fine cafes inside.  I've heard so much about this place from friends, I had to stop.  It was scrumptious. 

I had a little time before check in at the second hotel (we stayed at the reception sight the second night together) so I ventured over to Crate and Barrel.  What do you think of this sectional Danavee (in gray of course)?

The wedding was at the SMU chapel.  Beautiful and fast, my idea of a wedding!!!  I think Whitney said it lasted 18 minutes :)  Andrew and Bailey are two of the sweetest people.  I am a blessed gal that Chris has so many great friends from high school, undergrad, and grad school who have welcomed me into their circles.  I love seeing them and it is so fun to see Chris interact with his buddies.  Hate that everyone lives so far apart. 

The reception was at the Adolphus in downtown Dallas.  Fancy, smancy!  It was classy, simple and elegant.  This was the centerpiece at our table.  Lovely!

Yummy grub!  They had an assortment of southern foods; crab cakes, pulled pork, chicken, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese...  I could have had three plates, but I held back.  This gal is a bottomless pit (have you seen my son's thighs?).

The Mizzou gang in the wedding.  Wish I would have gotten a picture of our table. 

This is Patty and Allen.  I went to their wedding with Chris way back when we first started dating.  It was fun to catch up with them and actually talk to this couple whose wedding I crashed (I was a newbie girlfriend back then). 

 

And of course, I was SOOO excited to get home to this little man.  Remember how I went shopping?  Umm, I bought A SHIRT for myself (and mugs from Anthropologie).  Everything else was for Henry.  I missed him just a little.  Oh, and Jasper was missed too of course. 

I am sure many more weekends away are in our future.  Henry did great and we love that he has grandparents who want to steal him away from time to time.  Before we know it, he will be begging to spend the night at Granma and Papa's or Grammy and Doc's.  

Swimming Lessons

My friend filled me in on a great Groupon deal that we both snagged for our little ones.  Eight swimming lessons at our local Y for a great price.  Now, I realize Henry won't be jumping off the high dive or diving for rings anytime soon, but I hope to get him used to the water.  He loves his bath time, so I figured he could be on cloud nine in a pool or freak out.  With Henry, ya never know.

Fortunately, he didn't scream bloody murder.  He wasn't splashing around like a mad man either.  He was Mr. Cuddle during lessons and I was a okay with that!  He unintentionally stuck his head in the water a few times and whimpered a little, but nothing overly dramatic.  I am excited to see how he reacts throughout the next few weeks. 

Chris was able to come and snap some pictures.  Hopefully he will get in the water with us at some point.  My friend Zanna and her little girl Evelyn are taking lessons with us.  It is pretty fun!

Little unsure of the pool.

So nice to have friends with babes the same age to do fun things with!

Henry's preferred spot during lessons.  I didn't mind too much.

Corny smile.  I was freezing!

Seriously mom? 

He loved being on his back, talked the whole time.

Feast and Famine

I have always loved these verses from Ecclesiastes 3.
3 There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
Thank you to The Byrd's for setting these verses to a catchy tune as well so that I might sing them in a round about way from time to time.
A coworker of mine once described our line of work as "Feast or Famine". I held on to that bit of wisdom and notice it play out more and more not only at work but in all areas of life.
It has been a long while since I have experienced full blown famine in my life, praise The Lord. But, there are those periods of hunger.
A client who is on your heart in the wee hours of the morning and all you can do is pray.
Constant cancellations which effect finances.
Hearing about pain in a friend's life.
The garage door being bipolar.
The questions of what is next.
But, in this house, we feast. A lot! Our bellies are full both literally and figuratively. That's why I love these verses (and use them so often with my clients). Sure, there is a time for frustration and sadness. However, with each of those not so great things, there is a time for the complete opposite.
So, pass another roll, slather on more gravy and don't forget dessert. You might find a hair in your peas, but really... Who likes peas anyways? Just toss them in the garbage and laugh about it later.
I'm going to go enjoy some of my favorite rolls now...