A day for Daddy's...

I LOVE  my daddy!!!  I have been a daddy's girl ever since I was born and we have had a special relationship for my entire life.  We are so much alike and enjoy so many of the same things, so it's always fun spending time with him.  We work-out together, share books, cook together, and just sit and watch tv and movies together.  There have also been times when we go on family vacations together and he and I will go out and explore the towns while everyone else does their own thing!  Ever since I married Cody, we have stayed just as close and still enjoy spending quality time together.  Cody and my dad also have such a close relationship.  They go hunting together, shooting together, they go on occasional Academy runs to buy hunting equipment for the ranch, play the occasional golf game, and just hang out.  Michael is of course in on all of this too!  He also has a close bond and relationship with my dad...they are big buddies!  My dad has taught both of us how to shoot a gun and hunt...and we have both spent numerous hours in the deer blind with him.  It's something that is so near and dear to my heart and something that I will always remember.  Cody and his dad are also super close.  They are best friends and not a day goes by where they don't talk  to each other.  Cody's dad was there for every moment of his life and made him the man he is today.  Rick is so caring, generous, sensitive, giving, and was just a great role model for Cody.  I couldn't ask for a better father-in-law.  Needless to say, Cody and I both have two great men in our lives who have played significant roles in raising us and are still our best friends as adults.

When Father's Day was getting close, we started talking about what we were going to do for our dad's.  We decided to ask them if they would want to come over and we would cook them dinner.  They said yes, and so we started planning what we were going to have so that we could serve them and make sure they had full bellies!  The day of Father's Day, my parents and brother came to church with us at Beltway and then we went to Texas Roadhouse for lunch.  Church was amazing and we had such a wonderful time worshiping with our family.  Lunch was also good.  Texas Roadhouse isn't exactly one of my favorites...but I have to say that lunch was good and I enjoyed what I had.  My dad also loved it...and that's all that really matters!!!  For dinner that night, we decided to grill chicken and have veggies with quinoa and baked sweet potato fries as sides.  I marinated the chicken in a honey lime marinade and Cody grilled out on the grill.  I also made a marinade for the veggies that was a balsamic and garlic marinade.  I have a cast iron grill for inside, so I grilled the veggies on that while Cody used the outside grill for the meat.  We had  to open the two back doors to let out all the smoke in the house though!  That marinade for the veggies was smokey when it hit that cast iron grill!  After they were done cooking, I made the quinoa and tossed the veggies with that and topped it with the extra marinade.  I cut the sweet potato fries into mildly thin strips, tossed them with olive oil, and then baked them until they were nice and crispy.  Oh my...dinner was so, so good!  Everything tasted so good and Cody cooked the chicken perfectly!  My man knows how to use that grill!!!  For dessert I made a peanut butter/chocolate cheesecake and it seriously melted in my mouth!  The best part...it was healthy!  Only 190 calories for one huge slice!  My dad and Cody's dad also really enjoyed the food...and that meant so much to me.  I love being able to cook for them and let them just relax and not have to worry about dinner.  I also made a lime-a-rita to drink...which was so yummy!  After dinner, we went outside and played with the pups for a bit and then they headed home!  It was a great Father's Day!!!  I love you daddy...thank you for all you do and for who you are!!!

Mr. and Mrs. Harrison!!!

Josh and Abbie got hitched!!!  This precious couple had the most beautiful wedding on June 9th at Perini Ranch in Buffalo Gap, TX.  It was so beautiful, so much fun, and just simply perfect.  These two have such history.  Their love story began in 2004 and ended once in 2006.  But, God had bigger plans for them and brought them back together 2011 so that they would be united as one for the rest of their lives.  I have known both of these two precious people for several years and I couldn't imagine them without the other.  They are best friends and complete one another so perfectly.  Both of them have the biggest hearts, are dear friends, and just the kind of people that you are thankful for everday to share life with.  So, their wedding day was long awaited and worth every second of that wait!!!

The ceremony began at 6:00 under mesquite trees in West Texas.  When you walked into the venue, there was a sign-in table with some of their engagement pictures blown up to large poster prints and you could just see the love in both of their faces.  After the sign-in table, you walked into the ceremony entrance where they had made doors to walk through that looked like the entrance to a sweet old church chapel.  On one side of those doors, were their vows that they had written to one another for their wedding.  They were also blown up to poster size and are going to hang them up in their house so that they can look at them everyday.  How sweet is that?!?!  I love this idea!  Once you walked through the doors, the seating was old church pews along with some sweet white chairs.  It was all so beautiful.  The ceremony started with the groomsmen walking in along with Josh.  Josh's dad officiated the wedding, and it was the most precious thing.  I love that each of their family members played such a big role in every aspect of their wedding.  After the groomsment were in place, it was time to seat the family.  The bridesmaids were next to walk down.  Their dresses were made out of vintage slips and lace.  Abbie found the vintage slips and lace on Etsy and then had a girl make them that she also found through Etsy.  They were so pretty...all unique and all different.  The sweet little flower girls walked down next, followed by the ring bearer.  The ring bearer was Josh's nephew, Ryder, and he walked down the isle hold a sign that said, "Uncle Josh, here comes your girl."  OMG...LOVE!!!  The sign was made out of old fence pieces and the lettering was hand written in white paint.  Then...it was time for Abbie to walk down the isle with her daddy.  WOW!!!  That's really all I can say about how stunning she looked!  Abbie is beautiful all the time, but the look on her face was angelic.  I had seen her dress before, but seeing her walk down the isle with her daddy with that look on her face was breathtaking.  After her mom and dad gave her away, Josh's dad started the ceremony.  I loved how personable their ceremony was.  Their entire love story was told from the beginning and the way that they looked at each other was precious.  The presence of God throughout the ceremony was also so very present.  Ladell (Josh's dad) talked so much about how important it is to put God as the center of your marriage as well as talked about how wonderful it is to have truly found the person that God created just for you.  I loved that he talked so personally about each one of them.  We laughed and cried throughout the ceremony.  When it was time to do the unity candle, they did something I've never seen before.  They had two pieces of wood that when nailed together made a cross.  Together, they put those pieces together and then hung it on the backdrop of the alter that was behind them during the ceremony.  Then, they both walked over to both sides of the isle where their family was sitting and gave them all hugs and talked to them for just a moment before going back up to the alter.  Then, it was time to kiss the bride!!!  They were presented for the first time as Mr. and  Mrs. Harrison and it was time for the reception to begin!

Let me just say that this was probably the most fun I've ever had at a wedding!  The food was amazing, the music and dancing was a blast, and the company was even better!  The reception set-up was also under mesquite trees, with white lights and sweet lanterns strung throughout them.  They had a few couches and chairs set-up in various places with sweet pillows with their name on them.  There was some time before dinner was served after the ceremony, so they had a trail mix bar set-up so you could snack on something before dinner.  It was so cute...and so good!  They had so many different choices to choose from.  Anything from nuts, dried fruit, cereal, teddy grahams, cereal, etc!  Our little group wondered over there and filled baggies full of lots of goodies so we would have snacks before dinner was served!  Shortly after, the food began coming out and we all lined up to fill our plates!  Perini's catered and we had fried chicken, smoked ham, salad, mashed potatoes, green beans, rolls, and their famous bread pudding.  It was delicious!  Under our plates at the table were chargers made out of old mesquite tree trunks.  It fit in perfectly with the scenery and the amazing Texas food!  You really can't get much better than Perini's food...no matter what you ordered!  The first dance between Josh and Abbie was held during dinner, which was so precious!  Those two have some serious moves!!!  After that, the father/daughter dance and the mother/son dance took place and then it was time to cut the cake!  The cake was beautiful and had beautiful hand-made roses made out of vintage material placed all over the cake.  It was also so good!  After we were full of food and cake, we all began to make our way to the dance floor.  We danced the night away until it was time to see the Harrison's off to their honeymoon!  It was a beautiful, perfect wedding for one amazing couple.  We couldn't be happier for them and are truly blessed to have them as our friends and our family!  We love you Josh and Abbie...congratulations on starting your life together!!!