my pops.

Today is an extra special day... the birthday of my sweet, wonderful Daddy.

Happy, happy birthday to the best dad in the whole wide world. A patient, loving, kind man who is never too busy to talk to his girls. A daddy who willingly gets joins us on long shopping trips just so he can spend time with us. One of the greatest teachers I have ever had... whether the lesson is how to build an amazing Lego set, how to solve equations for algebra class or how to be a selfless friend and family member. I have learned so much from my wonderful dad. He is a man of the highest integrity and I admire him so very much.

So Pops, here's hoping the last few hours of your birthday are wonderful. Love you so very much and can't wait to see you soon!

The Simars out to dinner

Daddio, working our *amazing* rehearsal dinner video

Practicing our father-daughter dance

We bake pretty amazing apple pies

I know... he's not in this one... but it makes him smile :)

 

more ways to help.

Good morning lovely readers! I know that I have promised a Christmas and New Years update (maybe you'll get them by Valentine's ha!) but want to share with you something much more important. A few years ago one of my dear friends and former roommates, Holly, traveled to Haiti to work with an orphanage there. She came back with the most incredible stories to share about her experiences with the children and families she met there. Since then, Haiti has held a very special place in Holly's heart. Holly is heading back to Haiti today to help out at God's Littlest Angels Orphanage. Please read the following email that she sent to her friends and family. It has some great new ways to help, specifically concerning children at the orphanage, and includes some specific things that we can be praying for. I have highlighted specific prayer and aide requests. 

I am so proud of my friend for her bravery and selflessness as she travels to Haiti. Please keep her in your prayers.

Dear Family and Friends,

I received 3 emails on Thursday from various people at God’s Littlest Angels orphanage asking me if and when I can come and how long I can stay. They are in dire need of help there because many of their Haitian staff is missing. Being one of the larger orphanages, their gates are about to be flooded with newly orphaned children. I cannot explain how much my heart has been broken over the past few days over all the tragedies of this earthquake. I have no words. All I know is that God never said following him would be easy, he just said it would be worth it. It will be worth it. God has called me out of my comfort zone here in the US and to God’s Littlest Angels Orphanage to care for children in the most desperate of situations. I am not brave or strong, I have zero courage and I am terrified out of my mind…when I let the devil take hold of my thoughts. But Christ is my strength, my courage, and He alone will make me brave enough to do this.  He alone will carry me through this and He alone will replace fear with peace. On Christ alone, the solid rock, I stand. The safest place in the world to be is in God’s will so Haiti here I come!

To insure that the orphanage I am at continues to receive supplies please go to this website:

http://glahaiti.org/haiti_earthquake_relief

if that link doesn’t work go here:

http://godslittlestangelsinhaiti.org/2010/01/12/earthquake-update-what-do-we-do/

You can mail funds to this US address:

God's Littlest Angels
2085 Crystal River Dr.
Colorado Springs, CO 80915

I am begging you…to please GIVE and please PRAY.

Something else very URGENT you can do to help:

Orphans already in the adoption process need to GET OUT of Haiti and home to their families in Europe, the US, and Canada so that the orphanages have room for the new orphans. Please, please contact your Senators…if we don’t get these kids out then our beds at the orphanage could be tied up for months without the ability to accept new orphans. Children will DIE.  Here is how you can do it:

Go to this site (click here or copy and paste the full link below), scroll to your state. You'll see links to your Senator. Go to their web page to urge them to help expedite Haitian adoptions:

link = http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

Please do these things for me and for Haiti. Also please pray for me. Here are the specific things I need prayer for:

-I need to feel peace, strength, courage, and wisdom.
-When I get to the orphanage I need to be strong and go to work...pray that I am able to stifle my emotions and be strong enough to serve these children.
-I will need a strong stomach when I arrive to Port-au-Prince
-Protection during travel and throughout my stay
-A continuous flow of food, water, and diesel to the orphanage
-That I am not fearful
-That I am used effectively**
-Please pray for my parents and close family…they are fearful too.

I will leave for Miami on Monday and GLA is chartering a flight to Haiti Tuesday morning. We are being escorted with protection to the orphanage. I will probably stay about 2 months.  I pray that God breaks your hearts for Haiti too. 20/20 did a great piece last night on how Haiti got to this desperate point and unfortunately the US is partly to blame. We supported tyrant rulers as they stole money for themselves and kept their people poor and we supported our own business interests, instead of the interests of hurting people. This makes me angry and it makes God angry and it is time we step in and make a real difference. Please DON’T FORGET Haiti’s crisis in a few weeks…it will take years to recover from this.

I love you all and will keep everyone updated on when I leave, when I get there, and throughout my stay. Please keep me in your prayers...please.

Also, please pass this information onto your friends and family. GLA needs all the help it can get and I need all the prayers I can get.

In Christ,
Holly

a pretty good excuse.

Oh sweet blog, how I have missed you and all of my blog-world friends! I have tons to update on, everything from Christmas to NYE and probably more. Unfortunately I jumped right back into work when we returned from the holidays so there hasn't been much time for anything. My grand plan was to spend yesterday and today catching up. Catching up on laundry, housework, emails, this little blog... everything. 

My plans have been slightly altered since yesterday's news. At around 5:45 yesterday evening, we brought this little munchkin home to live with us.

Meet our new buddy Tucker (formerly Dom Perignon... yep, seriously. Such a classy dude!). We are so smitten with this little guy and are having the best time with him. We went back and forth on whether or not this was a good decision but so far haven't regretted it for a minute!

Just wanted to let you all know that we are still here and very, very well! Little Tucker is going to visit the vet today and we would all be very thankful for prayers that he is as healthy as he is happy!

(not my best picture I know... no one told me it would be a day for photographs and I was so not prepared ha!)

Until next time, we'll be playing, snuggling and hopefully continuing to have a great time with our new pal!

love is in the details.

A few weeks ago I flew to DC to host a bridal shower for my beautiful big sister. We had the shower on a Friday night at an amazing restaurant in Old Town Alexandria. The food was delicious and it was wonderful to spend the evening with so many of Jenn's wonderful friends. Bridal showers are one of my favorite parts of getting ready for a wedding. It is such a special time to be surrounded by great friends and relatives and celebrate this special time for the bride.

Get ready because I have LOTS of pictures from the shower. I wanted to be able to show all of you the little details. I'll do another post all about my new favorite Etsy shops that I discovered during the planning!

For place cards, I bought clear plastic frames at Michaels that were only $0.99 each. I sprayed them with a few coats of chalkboard paint and bought small plastic easels for them to sit on. I thought they looked a little plain so I added ribbon to the top of each one. I think they turned out pretty cute!

Jenn's place setting

The sign-in table.

I set the table up with one of their stunning engagement pictures and the cross-stitch that I gave them as an engagement gift. The little sign was another picture frame from Michael's. I gave it a few sprays of chalkboard paint and think that it was a sweet touch to the table. The guest book is from Paper-Source as well as the name tags.

The mantle

One of the arches in front of the wine room.

The room was so pretty!

Cocktail time!

The ladies opening their favors (more on those later!)

Since it was a date night shower, I wanted their favors to go along with the theme. I found an Etsy shop that makes cute little pocket mirrors. I gave one to each girl so they could use them on their own date nights.

Presents!

My place setting (I accidentally wrote maid instead of matron but didn't want to mess it up by erasing)

The cake table and one of the shower invitations.

One of Jenn's bridesmaids, Lily, recreated one of Jenn and Jason's first dates. SO thoughtful!

All of the girls

The bride with our Aunt Mary. She took a day off from work and flew from Texas with my mom just to be at the shower. It was so special to have her with us to celebrate! 

Two sets of sisters

Jason stopped by as we were leaving.

The day after the shower we went out to brunch and did some shopping in Old Town. We were lucky enough to see some beautiful snow! The shower was the weekend that it snowed in Houston so Mom and Aunt Mary were excited to get to see snow in DC since they missed it back home.

Wonderful sister. Amazing friend. Beautiful bride.

Two of my favorite women in the whole world. 

This is one of my new favorite pictures. 

thanksgiving recap.

I realize that I am very behind with my blogging, but I am going to do my best to catch up and get back on track... starting with a Thanksgiving recap.

As I am sure most of you know, we spent the Thanksgiving holiday back in Texas. We had a wonderful week spending time at home with our families. We enjoyed two delicious Thanksgiving meals, one with my mom's side of the family and another with the Kruegers. We also managed to squeeze in some Black Friday shopping and wedding planning!

Checking out their wedding venue!

B2B and MOH


Out to dinner with the Krueger gang

Pops and I baked a delicious apple pie from scratch. It was a huge hit and we will be making another for Christmas. 

With one of the *two* amazing turkeys that my dad made.

  

I don't think the really wanted me in the picture...

Oh how I wish I didn't have to wait a year for another feast like this!

Jenn with sweet Amelia Rose.

My turn with the sleeping babe.

The whole gang!

Our first Thanksgiving as Mr. and Mrs. 

And in non-Thanksgiving news...

Happiest of birthdays to the lovely Ivy Ruths! I hope your birthday is wonderful and that you have a great time celebrating tonight! Can't wait to see you and your hubby very soon!

yep, i'm still here!

It seems as though I have turned into the world's worst blogger. I am going to do my best to not get so behind again!

We have had a busy few weeks here. I have been working a lot and last week we had Kyle's folks here to visit. Enjoy the photo recap of what we have been up to lately...

One of our favorite new date night locations is a comedy club down the street. A few weeks ago Aisha Tyler was in town so we were able to not only enjoy her show but meet her.

On November 8 we celebrate 8 years of being Kyle and Stephanie. We had a great dinner at a wonderful seafood restaurant in Midtown.

Kim and I on our way to brunch. We wanted a picture with some pretty fall leaves!

While Kyle's parents were here, we went to Amicalola Falls at the state park.

The newlyweds at the falls.

The Rockets played the Hawks here last week so we headed to the game to support our hometown. We didn't end up winning, but it was a great game and I got to wear the jersey of my favorite Rockets player, Hakeem the dream! Yes, I coordinated my purse, headband and shoes with the team colors. Is anyone surprised??

In other news, I am still loving my job. I am starting to take lots of bridal appointments and on Saturday I SOLD MY FIRST DRESS!! I know it doesn't sound like a very big deal, but it was worth celebrating in my book! Brides usually need several appointments before they are ready to commit to a gown, but this bride bought a dress in our very first appointment. She was so sweet and is actually having a vow renewal with her husband. They eloped in February after putting off their wedding because of health problems. They are planning their dream wedding in the mountains and I helped her find the perfect dress. Kyle and I celebrated the grand occasion with dinner at Pappasito's!

We are packed and ready to head to Texas for Thanksgiving. We'll be leaving for the airport in less than an hour and I am more than ready! I'm not sure how much updating I'll do during the week, but I'll certainly be back soon with pictures from our week at home!

I hope you all have wonderful Thanksgiving holidays, filled with good food, wonderful friends and family, and lots of thanks for the blessings in your life. Cannot wait to hear about how all of you will be celebrating!

my holiday requests.

For the last few years my mom has requested that my sister and I create somewhat of a Christmas wish-list. For some reason I am having a tricky time with it this year. Truth is, I have a longer list of 'holiday requests' rather than items that I would like to see under our Christmas tree. Here are a few of the things I am hoping to eat/drink/enjoy over the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.

• My dad's egg nog. I am not a fan of regular egg nog at all but my dad makes the yummiest stuff you'll ever have!
• A shopping trip with the fam. I don't even care if I buy anything, I just love spending the day shopping and having lunch with my family. (Yes, my dad is included in this one. He isn't a major shopper but almost never passes up a trip with his girls!)
• Fresh, homemade apple pie. My Grammy makes a pretty incredible pecan pie but my dad and I are apple pie professionals.
• Mani/pedi with Mom and Jenn, followed by lunch at the famous Sandy McGee's! 
• ESCALANTE'S! I cannot tell you people how badly I miss this restaurant and everything about it. I am more than okay with enjoying this treat in November and December.
• I'm not sure what movies are coming out soon, but I would love to go see a super girly one with any gal pals that would like to join. I try not to drag Kyle to these movies so I have to take advantage of the opportunity while I am home.
• This last one should go without saying, but I'll say it anyway. I cannot wait to spend time with my family and friends back in Texas. 

I'll be back tomorrow with pictures from our anniversary date and the evening we spent with Aisha Tyler!