Savanna's Prom

Last night was my niece, Savanna's, prom so Dave and I went over to my mom's house to take pictures and see her off. She looked absolutely gorgeous. Her hair was stunning, her makeup so age appropriate and pretty and the dress looked so beautiful on her.

I just can't believe how grown up she is!

Anyway, here are some photos from last night.

prayer and milkmaid braids

To all my believer readers (hey, that has a nice ring to it), I ask if you would please pray for my niece, Savanna, as she is having knee surgery as we speak. She has been playing basketball practically since she could walk, is a fantastic player and in her short 16 years has already had knee surgery and is now having the same surgery on her opposite knee. She loves the game dearly and never wants to give it up (and should not have to!).


So if you could send up some thoughts and prayers in her favor, it would not go unappreciated! <3


In other much less important news, I discovered yesterday that my hair is long enough to pull off the milkmaid braids. I was inspired by this post over at The doe or the deer (who was inspired by this post over at Sometimes Sweet) to re-create the same look. I'm really glad I tried it because it is now my new favorite hairstyle. It's easy and always cute.

Coincidentally, just as I had finished my braids, Kacie sent me a text with a picture of her braids. WEIRD!
We ended up hanging out for a few hours and sported our twinsie braids around town.


I still have updates from the weekend to get to, but in all seriousness, the sheets are calling my name to be changed and the toilet is screaming, "I need a cleaning."
Then off to the gym for a killer cardio workout with Lauren.
And then a post-surgery visit to Savanna.


You know, priorities and what not.

 {In Lauren's backseat}

a look back at 2010

This year was unlike any other year in my life, for many reasons. Some of the events I look back on with extreme fondness and pleasure. Others, I try not to think on... but regardless of what happened this year, I cannot deny that this year was unforgettable for me.


Here is a look at my 2010


This year:

I turned 26

I married the most beautiful human being

my love

my David

Went on the most incredible honeymoon of a lifetime

(even if we spent all of our money to get there 

& I gained more weight than I care to admit, 

which I'm still struggling to lose, it was worth it)

Ireland

London

Paris

Italy

Met & fell madly in love with Alli

{she is an AMAZING friend}

Spent a wonderful last summer with & said goodbye to my MarMar<3

(she now resides in London with her love, Ben)

Watched my eldest niece, Savanna, turn 16!

(that was scary)

Said a final farewell to a dear, beloved lifelong friend

(we will always miss him)

He really does call me "Red" now

Went to Kyle & Jaymee's gorgeous Palm Springs wedding

Met the Hubs & my mom in Texas

LOVED being his Wifey

(and getting adorable notes like these)

Got to know some really awesome people at church 

{like Kacie!}

(and enjoyed times like these with them and will hopefully enjoy many more)

Saw the Judds' live!

(seriously, I was in awe of these women)

and had our very first Christmas as hubs and wifey in Manhattan

(and my very first White Christmas to boot!)

I also sent out our first Christmas post card

(I only had the time/budget for a limited amount to send out, so I'm sorry if you didn't get one!)

{We also couldn't decide which one we liked the best, so we made all three and sent them out randomly}

Instead of ringing in the New Year with friends and champagne (which was the plan), we are spending it here at home because I am feeling pretty sick/dizzy/exhausted. The composing of this entry is due mostly in part to the fact that I'm trying to keep myself awake until midnight.

But, I hope you all are doing something a lot more fun than just sitting at home, watching Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin and trying not to fall asleep.

Happy New Year everyone and I hope you all have a wonderful, exciting, safe and happy 2011!

Hold the phone. Are we really talking babies??

The past few days have been kind of crazy and totally mellow at the same time. I know, weird, right? 

On Friday... or was it Saturday? I can't remember. Both of my nieces went to their winter formal and asked me to do their makeup for the event. It was great to be there for my girlies and to make them feel pretty. <3<3

Makenna in the purple & Savanna in the white

On Sunday Dave and I went to my mom's house and I cooked dinner as a belated birthday gift to Jeff (my mom's bf). I made apricot & almond stuffed pork chops with cornbread stuffing and baked an apple galette. I'll have to add the photos of the dinner later. It all turned out pretty delicious (and on time thanks to my mom's help), but I had a stomach ache for two days because I don't really eat meat that often and a whole pork chop just did not sit well with me. It reminded me of it's presence all throughout that night.

Last night Dave and I went out on a date for Sushi at Ra and saw Due Date. I am a huge Zach Galifianakis fan. Ever since my friend, Nicole, showed me one of his stand up routines on YouTube a few years ago, I totally fell in love. Needless to say, I pretty much laughed for two hours.

I also stopped by at Anthro to see some of my friends who still work there. I hadn't seen them in so long and it was so wonderful to catch up and just see all of their smiling, lovely faces. I miss all of my friends at Anthro like CRAZY. It was such a treat to see a few of those ladies. I'm definitely going to visit them more often.

~

On a complete and total unrelated note, I have been thinking a lot about... duh duh DUUUUUN... babies. Yes, Kim and mom, you read that right, babies. The reason it's odd for me to be admitting this is because there was definitely a time in my life when I swore I would not have any children. I also thought I'd never get married (as did my mom) and look how that turned out.

Here's the thing: I'm going to be 27 in January, I haven't been married even a year and though I really want Dave and I to have our time as a family of two for a while before we expand that number (like 2 or 3 more years) I can't help the natural direction, or should I say unnatural... for me, that my heart is just leading me. I never thought about what age I should be when I start having children, because I suppose I didn't feel it mattered.

That is until Dave and I started talking about it. From the beginning Dave made it clear that he didn't want to start having kids too late. He wanted to be a young dad. Before we got married he made his case on why having kids younger is a better idea. I certainly did NOT latch onto his way of thinking quickly. In fact, now that we're married and living in a less than desirable neighborhood, he is dead set on not having kids until we buy a house. And who knows how long that will take.

Now that Dave wants to wait, I'm starting to think he may have been right before. If we wait 3 years to get pregnant, I will be 30 by then. We are hoping to have 2 or 3 kids. That gives me a small window of time to pump out some rugrats (juuuuust kidding). Geez, I feel like Mona Lisa Vito stomping my boots and declaring, "My clock is tickin'-like-this!"

Don't get me wrong, I'm not hoping to get pregnant anytime soon, but come on you gotta think about these things. We even know what gender we're hoping for for each child and in what order as well as what their names will be. I'm not going to reveal the genders we're hoping for or their names, because honestly, I am really not a fan of being copied in any way, especially when it comes to something so sensitive as what you name your child. Buuuuuuuuuut, I will reveal their initials.

Baby # 1 

 JRH

Baby # 2 

WDH

Baby # 3 

ACH 

or

ABH

The first baby's name was decided before Dave and I even got engaged. The second baby's name was decided just a couple of weeks ago and the third baby's first name was decided by me a long time ago and it has thankfully grown on Dave, the middle name is something we've been talking about lately so, like all of these names, it might change. I'm pretty dead set on baby name # 1, though.

We obviously realize that you just cannot control the gender your child will be, but we can still hope and pray, right?