August 2009

August was here before I knew it!!!! And it was CRAZY BUSY!!!! And because there was so much that happened, the events of August will posted seperately. It all started with a trip to Minnesota...when we got back our wedding invites went out...and the month ended with three bridal showers!!! This post will be about all the little happenings.

My aunt, uncle, and cousins came through Stillwater to visit....and meet Ken. I was so excited to see them!!!! They used to live in Tulsa and my aunt was my voice teacher while they were there! I just LOVE them!!!! We enjoyed the afternoon with them.

Our Minnesota trip came and went (stay tuned for pictures and a post for that by itself), and when we got home...it was close to my birthday. Mom and dad came to Stillwater to bring the dogs to us (they kept them while we were gone) and to celebrate my birthday. We went to TX Roadhouse and told them the details from the trip. That same week, Kenny and I celebrated my birthday with a trip to OKC. I had a dress fitting and he had a tux fitting...and YES, I made him go out and sit in the car while I tried my dress on. :) We got to see Michelle and Finley...and eat at Olive Garden. We forfeited cake and had dessert at Orange Tree! The next night, I had a birthday dinner with my girlfriends from work....and on my ACTUAL birthday, Ken and I spent a quiet night at his house. It was a great week!!! Sadly, I only have pictures of our trip to OKC.

Finley's favorite word is "hi" and I love hearing her say it!!! However, this day she decided to be shy...so she only waved. She was very un-finley-like...she just sat there and stared at us. When she did finally start to open up a little, she would only play with Kenny!

Showers, showers and more showers....and this is how we got rid of all our trash (only the boxes and paper, of course)!

And, for my birthday present from Ken I got a new lense (70-300mm) for my camera!!! Here are a few pictures I took in our yard.

And here are just a few of our "kids" since I haven't posted them in awhile.

I know it APPEARS that we weren't that busy....but we were! I will post about Minnesota and the showers....but all the moments in between (dramatization) were filled with wedding plans and preparations...and will post all of that soon too!

The Three Babies Got Married

Last October, I took Ken to see my mom's side of the family in Abilene, Texas. While we were there, we got to meet two new people. Matt and Eve (sadly to say, we were supposed to meet Eve, but she ended up not being able to make it). Matt was dating my cousin, Traci....and Eve was dating my other cousin, Tyler. All three of us couples started dating within months of each other....and all three of us cousins are the babies of our families. I am the baby of the Farquhar's; Tyler is the baby of the Lawrence's; and Traci the baby of the Hogan's (Ken and Tricia). I should mention there are two more babies....Joey and Hill. Joey is the baby of the Hogan's (George and Penny) and he is 13 or 14 years old. Hill is the baby of the Hardin's and he is 8 years old. So, needless to say, they probably won't get married for awhile.

So, anyway, Matt and Traci, Tyler, and Ken and I all sat around my aunt and uncle's kitchen table telling our stories about how we met. It was fun to hear how we all met and just simply fellowship with family. I think all of us kind of KNEW we were close to being on the marriage track. :) Tyler and Eve were first....They got engaged last November or December. Traci and Matt were next....and I want to say they got engaged in December. (Sorry if my dates are off). And then Ken and I got engaged in April.

Wedding dates were next: Traci and Matt set theirs for July 18, 2009 in Abilene, TX. Tyler and Eve set theirs for July 31, 2009 in Colorado Springs, CO. Ken and I set ours for October 3, 2009 in Tulsa, OK. And now, all thre have come and gone.

This was such a fun milestone for all of us. Its so neat to see God move and watch HOW He brings about His plan. And, my favorite part is to watch WHO He brings to each of us....and how they fit each of us so perfectly....and how we fit them so perfectly! I love my cousins and am sad we don't get to see each other on a regular basis....but I am so thankful that we worship and love and trust the same God! And love that He is working and moving in all of our lives. AND, its fun that we can all look back and see that ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN IN A YEAR!

Traci and Matt - July 18th:

Eve and Tyler - July 31st:

Now...another baby in my family got married this summer too. Chris is the baby of the Jones' family...my dad's sister's son. He and Emily were married July 26, 2009 in New Braunsville, TX. And here is a peak at their beautiful wedding!

Ken and Beth - October 3rd:

(All pictures were taken from their profiles on facebook)

30 Days of Thankfulness

Day 2 - Today I am thankful for antibiotics!

I just can't seem to kick this cold!!! I was sick a few weeks ago and took off work two days because of it. After that and a weekend of rest, I thought I was ok. I was back at work all last week...but just never felt like myself. Saturday night was when I really noticed it. I was exhausted and had trouble breathing (normally) while I was sleeping. So today, I decided I would go see a doctor at work. Thankfully, I was able to get some good medicine!!! LOVE Z-PACKS!!!!! I only have to take it three days! Its wonderful! I can't wait to feel better!!!! For good!!!!

30 Days of Thankfulness

Last year, I started a "tradition" of blogging 30 Days of Thankfulness. It was really neat to see what little things I saw in each day that I was thankful for. I think we all take forgranted of the little day-in and day-out blessings God gives us on a daily basis....a child's laugh, a phone call from a parent, the changing colors of leaves, etc. So, I've decided to do it again this year....and its a fun tradition for the month of Thanksgiving!

November 1st ~
Today I am so thankful that Ken and I were able to go to church together and have our weekly Sunday Night Date to Louie's after church.

We try to go every week, but due to the wedding and honeymoon and just trying to work out living together we haven't been in a while. We have a little tradition to go to church and then eat at Louie's afterward, and tonight we got to do that again. Ken is also training a new guy at work and they usually get off late....so we didn't know if we could even go tonight. It really is one of my favorite things to do: go to church as a family.

Ken just got his schedule for 2010 and we are really excited about it. Its a little different from this year....but the BEST part is we are going to be able to go to church Sunday mornings together!!!! Praise the Lord!!!

July 2009

Ok...so I know June was pretty uneventful, but I made up for it in July (and just wait until you see August...we are going to have to break it down into more than one blog). July brought a new change....my house went up for sale. Ken and I worked A LOT on getting it staged and looking good. And we did it! We have been worried about the timing because we were told not to miss June...and we did. However, knowing that God is perfect in His timing, I knew that He would take care of it all. I have been praying for the perfect family to come along at the perfect time to fall in love with my house (stay tuned because we may have an update on this very soon)!

And then there was VEGAS!!!!! YAY!!!! I love it! This year, I went with my friend Tia. We had so much fun. My first time to Vegas (last summer), I went a little overboard on the spending b/c there was just TOO MUCH!!! This year, I was prepared and we were very frugal!!! Our hotel, flight, food, and entertainment was around $600! That is a nice, cheap vacation! It really was great! We stayed at Paris...and it was beautiful! Our favorite meal was Sunday brunch at the Palms. Its their mexican restaurant and on Sundays they have a Margarita Brunch...all you can eat breakfast and mexican food...and all you can drink margaritas!!! Our favorite was the french toast with CARAMEL SYRUP!!!!! I think we had at least 2 servings!!!! A-MA-ZING!!!! Our favorite show was a dinner theater...it was a murder mystery in old downtown. The Freemont experience was really cool! We met some really fun people and had a great time there. Our other favorite thing was to spend time at the POOL!!!! :) We had a great time!

This is a view of our entire hotel from across the street.

And this is the view from our room!

This is the inside of our hotel. The entire thing is designed to look like you are walking the streets of Paris. It was great!

Right outside the hotel....obviously the night view of the Eiffel Tower.

The pool...this is a view from our room.

After a morning of laying out and swimming!

The two wedding chapels that were open! I was actually surprised at how pretty they were. I think I just have this idea in my head of what "Vegas Weddings" are like. They actually have a staff to coordinate the wedding!
This is the old downtown...they call it the Freemont Experience. Its really neat! They have closed off the street and its covered. The entire street lights up and they play music. You can see the lights on the over us, right past the "Queens" casino.

On the Strip:

Playing the slots....thats the only thing I do play. I think I spent about $15 total the entire trip.

A night out (every night was really a night out)...but this was the night we got really dressed up and went to see a REAL Vegas-style show, Jubilee!
And when I got home, I had these waiting for me! :)

Towards the end of July, my niece (Kassie) came to stay with me. We had a good time! She hung out with me and my girlfriends the first night she got there. We ate at a Japanese restaurant and sat at the hybachi table. After dinner we went SHOPPING! The next day we travelled to OKC to see Michelle and Finley! There we were also able to meet up with my college roommate, Fizz (her real name is Stephanie, but we call her Fizz), and her family. We ate at Olive Garden and then did some shopping there too. Kass and I had a good time....her last night, we made her a t-shirt. She ended up just loving Lexis (our German Shepherd). My brother and his family came to Stillwater to pick her up...my favorite was my nephew was scared of Ken's car! :) He wouldn't get too close to it. It was cute!

The rest of these are just random pictures from the month....stuff out at the house, our neighbors, and Ken's new addition!

Hanging out with our neighbors...Ken has some serious tractor-envy!

We had a pretty rough storm in July. Here is some of the damage and then our big fire to burn it all!

And here is Ken's new addition to our home. He has been waiting over 2 years to get his little friend...and its finally here!!!