Jessica and Joe get hitched!

We spent the past four days celebrating the wedding of Daniel's sister Jessica in New Orleans. We had a wonderful weekend and the wedding truly was so beautiful and special. It was a true family affair - Daniel officiated, I was a bridesmaid, E and C were flower girls... the ceremony was just perfect and the reception was fun, fun! The girls are very excited to have Uncle Joe officially in the family! Blessings to Jessica and Joe as they venture life together as a married couple! Here are my favorite pics from our trip.

first dance

the flower girls breaking in the dance floor

emma, claire, jessica and me

four generations

my sweet family at the rehearsal dinner

celebrate :: seven years of marriage!

June 10, 2006

Daniel and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary yesterday. Seven!! Where does time go?! We met nearly eleven years ago, dated through college, married two weeks after graduation and started the greatest adventure I've ever been on. We've gone through two colleges, two states, three houses... we've had two kids and a dog... it's amazing to reflect on all we have been through and done in just seven years. I pray God blesses us with many, many more! 

Emma and Claire kept asking me when I was going to put on my princess dress. It's hard to explain you got married a long time ago to two year olds! Nevertheless, they were very excited about our "nan-na-verse-a-ree"!! Daniel and I went to dinner at Brennan's - it was our first time to go and we loved it! When we arrived, there was the most beautiful floral arrangement I've ever seen. Daniel had a surprised look on his face... that's because the flowers were sent from Emma, Claire and Boaz (from Joe and Sandra, the girls' Godparents)! What a sweet gift to the both of us. Daniel and I feasted on turtle soup, salads, a ton of bread, steak and, of course, Bananas Foster. We had a great dinner, laughed and talked about our life. We are both blessed and are so grateful to have found each other when we were 18 and 19 years old! So funny to think I had such big plans to date as many cute college boys as possible and I ended up meeting "the one" on day one of school!

jenny + loren

Jenny and Loren were married at Rough Creek Lodge this weekend. What a wedding weekend it was! Rough Creek is located about 40 miles southwest of Fort Worth at the top of the Hill Country. The weather was gorgeous. The wedding guests had the lodge/ranch/resort to ourselves... we went on walks, ate great food (duck migas for breakfast, yes!!), stopped by the petting zoo, the boys did archery, tomahawk throwing and paintball. Best part? Spending time with family - especially those we don't see that often. My Dad and Susie got to love on their grandkids and I got to catch up with my Grandmother Virginia, Aunt Judy, Uncle Howard, Aunt Julia and Uncle Bill... I also got to see lots of cousins and make new friends! CJ is getting so big. The girls are smitten with their cousin. It was so fun to have my mom and sisters there, too... all of my family on a big ranch - doesn't get much better than that!! 

Jenny truly outdid herself when it came to the wedding. Everything was Texas meets vintage meets pink meets shabby chic. As Daniel said: "it was a black tie affair - Texas style"! Jenny's dress was gorgeous - ivory and pink... it looked vintage and looked amazing on her. My sister Laura did her hair, too! Jenny and Aunt Fran made a lot of the stuff for the wedding... the vintage window signs on the chapel, the burlap bouquets on each aisle, the pink and white painted chairs at the reception... They had an entire sitting area outside of the reception with stuff from Jenny's store (think vintage benches and couches with lots of fun pillows)... each program was actually a book, tied with twine. Inside each page was dedicated to the bridal party with custom silhouettes of each person... those silhouettes were also hanging around the wedding cake - a taupe colored cake with vintage broaches cascading down the side. The band was an amazing group from Austin - they totally rocked out and we had so much fun dancing the night away! Here are some pictures from the weekend:

Rehearsal Dinner - BBQ and Cowboy Boots

my mom and Emma 

Claire made a friend!

Daniel teaching me how to shoot a bow and arrow - so fun!

I love my sisters!

Aunt Judy and Uncle Howard - Judy looked amazing in this dress!!

first boat ride!

confession session :: temper-tantrums, burn marks & a muffin-top

I had a rough afternoon... I need to get it out...

We are almost two months into having two two year olds and as much as I love this age, I am ready to move on past this age. I'm stuck in this weird spot where I don't really want my girls to grow up - they still seem so small and babyish to me - but I also want them to be a little more independent... a little more "grown up". 

I'm also at a hard place because Claire is in this awesome stage right now - she's super sweet, super easy to deal with, curious and even though she doesn't listen to the word "no", she is easy to teach and redirect... easy to trust and let play alone for awhile... 

Emma on the other hand is in full-blown temper-tantrum mode. For every sweet, loving thing she does, she soon follows with an insane-is-this-really-my-child outburst. Thank God she hasn't done it outside of the home... yet. She strips herself naked (see above, yes, that's in the car), cries, screams, does some sort of hot-potato-hand-wave and jumps/hops/stomps over and over again. Oh there is also, flailing, pretending to be asleep on the floor and other dramatics... at first it was funny. Now I'm just tired. Emma's verbal skills are growing more and more every day and that is helping in trying to figure out what exactly has set her off. But we still have a long way to go...

The past few days have been tough... meltdowns every night at dinner... Emma puked last night randomly... Today was kind of the icing on the cake. Daniel took Claire to the grocery store for their father-daughter outing this afternoon. Well, Emma got jealous and angry and proceeded to cry the entire time (1 hour, 13 minutes, but who was counting?!). As I was holding her, she bit my head. Hard. While I tried to sit on the couch with her she slapped my face. Time Out didn't work, it just made things far worse. "Fun" activities kept her calm for a matter of five minutes. By the time Daniel got home I had lost it. 

Confession: instead of thanking Daniel for freeing me of one child... and instead of thanking Daniel for grocery shopping... and instead of just leaving Emma to herself, I got myself all worked up and angry at Daniel like it was his fault and next thing you know Mommy is in full temper-tantrum mode. Not my best parent or wife moment. 

To make it worse, because I have no mind by this point, I grab a cookie sheet from the 450 degree oven with my bare hand and burn the you-know-what out of my fingers... and then when I run into the dining room to check in on Claire all I notice in the mirror is my body in my Nike running shorts and my white tank top... and that muffin-top is just glaring at me reminding me I haven't worked out at the gym since Friday and all those body image insecurities start swelling up in me. And I start to slowly lose it... crying and more crying. 

It's been a few hours since the Jean and Emma Meltdown of 2012 and now I can laugh at how ridiculous the afternoon was. 

I lost my patience. I lost sight of what was really important (giving comfort to Emma).

I don't know where you are today or where you'll be tomorrow or the next... but we all have bad days. We all mess up. We all do it wrong sometimes. It's easy for women to feel like we have to have it all: perfect house, perfectly cooked meal, sweet and smart children, rockin' body, etc... today I felt like I didn't have any of that. 

But the truth is, I do. I am perfect in God's eyes. My children are perfect in God's eyes. He loves us the way we are - temper tantrums, burn marks, muffin-top and all. I have stuff I need to work on - and God's grace, love and forgiveness allows me to continue to strive to be the best Jean I can be. 

I have great kids. I have a great husband. I love my job. Fantastic family. Wonderful friends. I feel secure. Tomorrow is a new day. Thank goodness.

Here's to a great day tomorrow - fresh start filled with lots of extra kisses for Miss Strong-willed Emma. 

confession session :: marriage takes three

image via pinterest

Today, Daniel and I celebrate SIX years of marriage. I remember our campus minister, Creighton, preached that our love on our wedding day wouldn't compare to the love that we would have for each other one year from then, two years, five years, ten years, 50 years... I didn't really believe him in that moment... how could I be any more in love with Daniel than I am right now? Well, Creighton was right. I have grown more deeply in love with Daniel each passing year. And, I have grown more deeply in love with Christ. But... 

Marriage is hard.
Marriage takes work.

For two very independent and strong-willed people, it took us awhile to get into the groove of marriage.  I know that there have been times throughout the past six years when I've said to Daniel, "I love you, but it's really hard to be married to you right now" ... and guess what, he's said the same about me. As Christians we are supposed to be striving for perfection. Marriage can be a barrier to that - I can be mean, a little snarky, selfish and bossy... but marriage can also be a catalyst to become more holy, more at peace and more aware of God's will in our lives.

I love this scripture that was read at our wedding: "12 Therefore, as God’s choice, holy and loved, put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 Be tolerant with each other and, if someone has a complaint against anyone, forgive each other. As the Lord forgave you, so also forgive each other. 14 And over all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. 15 The peace of Christ must control your hearts—a peace into which you were called in one body. And be thankful people. 16 The word of Christ must live in you richly. Teach and warn each other with all wisdom by singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17 Whatever you do, whether in speech or action, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus and give thanks to God the Father through him." (Colossians 3:12-17, Common English Bible Translation)

Do you hear that?? compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, tolerant, forgive, love, peace of Christ, thankful, teach and warn, singing psalms, gratitude, Lord Jesus, God the Father. 

Marriage takes three.
Marriage is selfless.

I've learned that I can't do it all on my own. I've learned Daniel can't do it all on his own. But God can and God has done some amazing things in our marriage. God is bigger and better and perfect. Through his love and his grace, Daniel and I have laid a firm foundation for our marriage. I'm so grateful. I really do love being married. I'm thankful God has blessed me through Daniel. I give thanks that I am more of the woman God has called me to be because of my marriage.

Marriage is rewarding.
Marriage is a blessing.

Happy 6th Anniversary, Daniel.
Here's to another 60 with my best friend.

Date Nights

Once Daniel and I finished our Disciple Bible Study back in May, Joe and Sandra (the girls' godparents) volunteered to keep babysitting the girls on Wednesday nights so we could have date nights through the summer. Heck Yes!! 

We have had three date nights so far and all have been fun: finding a new Mexican food restaurant in a restored theatre (El Real) with Amy's Ice Cream for dessert; shopping at The Galleria (more of an errand than a date for Daniel) and then dinner at Buca... last night's date night was the best so far: Dinner at a little bistro in the River Oaks shopping center and then watching the film Bernie at the River Oaks Theatre. 

Two things about last night:

1. Bernie is a MUST SEE! It's a dark comedy and based on a true story. You will literally laugh out loud. The cast is perfect - Jack Black is wonderful and many of the "actors" aren't actors because they are the townspeople from Carthage, Texas (where the story takes place). You will really be laughing if you have any connection to East Texas. We have a farm in Colmesneil, Texas and as I watched the film I felt as if I knew everyone in it. Ha! The jokes about Texas and East Texas are too funny. Another fact: Bernie was our senior pastor's music director in Louisiana years ago and we have a lot of Methodist pastor friends who knew the pastor at the Methodist Church in Carthage that is portrayed in the movie. Small world! The story is very interesting and you feel for all the characters involved - still can't believe it's true!

2. The River Oaks Theatre is awesome. It felt like Daniel and I were on a date at the Highland Park Village Theatre - the place were we went on MANY dates while at SMU. I love the feel of the theatre and they show lots of indie and international films there. Plus, they have a full bar upstairs and your typical movie-theatre munchies. 

seaside

Our trip to Seaside was perfect. We had smooth travels there and the beach and water were breathtaking! We arrived Thursday afternoon and went straight out to the water. Those steps in the picture above come from our back patio. It was awesome. Here's a recap of the weekend:

Thursday night was the welcome party on the beach - think sunset, steel drum, buffet and s'mores. Plus, we got to be with college friends that we maybe see once a year - it was so special to be there with them and to see Emily so happy!

Friday: beach, lunch at Bud & Alley's with my cousins - crazy that we were there at the same time!! - more beach, rehearsal and dinner. fireworks show after on the beach complimentary of the rev. 

Saturday: prayer brunch in lieu of a bridal luncheon. I LOVED this. We will be doing this with Emma and Claire. All the women gathered around and prayed for Emily and Jay - to hear Emily's mom and Jay's mom pray for the marriage was so encouraging and beautiful. There wasn't a dry eye in the room! walked around the arts fair in Seaside, beach and wedding/reception.

Sunday: mother's day brunch at The Great Southern and then home to Houston... via Baltimore. We volunteered to have our seats bumped... so even though we got in at midnight, we got a $1000 SWA flight voucher. Already planning our next trip! 

welcome party at sunset. beautiful!

Holly, Megan, me, Emily, Ashley Claire, Meg and Brittany

SMU CHI O'S!

another shot of the beach on Friday

Griff, Katy, Jenny, Loren, me and Daniel
Frank and Teddy
Loved being with my family! Can't wait until Jenny's wedding in November!

Key Lime Pie, dipped in chocolate, on a stick. YUM!

I loved having a bike... Daniel didn't think I knew how to ride one, but I showed him! :)
This is at the main square in Seaside, notice the architecture and tents for the art show.
I ate lunch at the Grilled Cheese food truck: Goat Cheese, Prosciutto, Arugula and Tomatoes. OMG.

at the rehearsal dinner

Fireworks show

our housemates we met on the trip and instantly clicked with.
while we were at the prayer brunch, the guys went to Waffle House... and wore the hats all day.

Eden Gardens, where the wedding was at... they had lawn games everywhere to play. So fun!

Daniel led worship - it was great!!

The Irvings and The Minners

our house playing bocce ball

all the chi o's after singing shades

the most incredible shrimp and grits we've ever had (@ The Great Southern)

And while we did have the "perfect" vacation, nothing on that trip compared to coming home to these girls. We missed them so much and can't wait to take them to Seaside. We will definitely be going back!!