Be Magical Today, Be YOU Tomorrow

our OWL pumpkin this year

At age 6, my wardrobe consisted of long-sleeved shirts and leggings.
Partly because I lived in Redmond, Washington where it pours on a daily basis but mostly because,
despite my mom's greatest efforts, I REFUSED to wear anything that even remotely resembled denim until the fifth grade.
Something about it was so scratchy to me. I just could not get over it.

While the rain kept us, well me, inside to avoid getting wet, I would spend the day dressing up.
My mom would reach to the top of my closet where she stashed away clothes for just the right time.
After popping off the lid, the grin would come.
I know what you are thinking...
Mardi Gras beads
Silly hats
High-Heal shoes
Aprons
Clip on Jewelry

but the truth is...
underneath that big lid,
the whole reason for the giant smile,
it was for Summer clothes!
I would spend hours dressing up in shorts, t-shirts, and sandals.
All the "fun" clothes that I never really got a chance to wear.

Those were my favorite dress up clothes.
Except for that one special day out of the year,
the one that only shows up on October 31st.
Halloween
Rain or not, we got all dressed up and spent a magical evening where we not only got to dress up as someone different, but got to pretend to actually be that someone for a whole night.

Even to this day, dressing up is still one of my most favorite parts about Halloween but what I have come to realize, is that when the day is over and November 1st rolls around... I am even more happy going back to being me.
                             
Have fun dressing up for one night... then CELEBRATE BEING YOU!

Murder Mystery.

Hey Ya'll! 

Mary Kay Eternity here, wife of Reverend Jim Bob Eternity. Cactus Texas very own beloved T.V. Evangelist. I'm here to tell ya'll there's been a murder here in the local town bar. I reckon' I was the first to blame after my .22 caliber pistol was found in my purse and my suspicious website that my husband wadn't too happy about it when he found out. I swear I didn't done it. I would have blamed the town sheriff before blamin' my self. You wouldn't believe who'd done it after all. Nothin' other then my very own husband Reverend Eternity. That liar might as well rot in prison for all I care.

Ya'll guessed it right, we were invited to our very first Murder Mystery party!
It was blast!
I was hoping that I wasn't the murderer from the very beginning... lets just say I'm a terrible.. not a good liar.
Nic however, had everyone fooled. That little trouble-maker.
It's definitely a party I want to host in the future and such a fun idea to celebrate Halloween!

Oh and did I mention the comb-over and DI suit had me dreamy-eyed the whole not long.
Just sayin' ya'll, Reverend Eternity is one handsome devil.
Can you tell I love talking like this? I think I'd fit right in down South!

Confession.

I am not a huge dog person.
I am not a fan of how their hair gets on your clothes and all over your house.
I am afraid they will bite me when playing fetch with them.
I guess I'm just not a huge pet person in general.
But despite all of these things, put a puppy, kitten, baby bunny, really anything little in my arms and I fall in love and get attached.

Remember those puppies my dad's dog had that I told you about HERE and HERE...
well I think I am in love with one of them and that is just from pictures. I haven't actually got to see any of them in person, nor will I. Which is probably a good thing.

See that little escaper in the left corner? You do. You're in love with him to? Thought so.

Just look at him....

Friday's Favorite: A Momma's Birthday

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

To a Baby's Momma

to a momma who spent all day rocking and holding me in her arms right after I was born.

to a momma who spent countless more hours in that rocking chair when I had strep and ear infections.

to a momma who probably changed  a lot of poopy diapers.

To an Infant's Momma

to a momma who let me sleep in the middle of the bed when I was too scared at night.

to a momma who made me soup secrets and cinnamon sugar toast every time I was sick.

to a momma who read stories to me every night before going to bed.

to a momma who gave me a brother to play with.

To a Teenager's Momma 

to a momma who stayed up until midnight making sure I got home safe on Friday and Saturday nights.

to a momma who held me the first time a boy broke my heart.

to a momma who was just as nervous as me to find out if I made the high school dance team and screamed with me when my name was on the list!

to a full-time working momma who supported all of our extra curricular activities.

to a momma who is the hardest worker I know.

To an Adult's Momma

to a momma who has always encouraged me to reach for my dreams and has helped support me through college.

to a momma I still call when I have a bad day.

to a momma who is the first to hear when something exciting happens in my life.

to a momma who helped put together the wedding of my dreams.

to a momma who I will turn to when I have my babies.

to a momma who gets more beautiful with age.

to a momma who his my best friend.

From a Momma's Baby

from a daughter who loved being snuggled and rocked.

from a daughter who loved that day in the rocking chair just as much as you did.

from a daughter who is SO grateful that you were her momma.

From a Momma's Infant

from a daughter who was a little handful and wishes she wouldn't have given you such a hard time.

from a daughter who loved it when you played baby dolls and kitchen with me.

from a daughter who hung on your every word about how you ate popcorn in a special way when you were a little girl (I wanted to be just like you). 

from a daughter who loved it when you held her hand in public so you wouldn't lose her.

from a daughter who became talkative just like you.

From a Momma's Teenager

from a daughter who could have been better about helping you around the house (i'm sorry).

from a daughter who cherished every piece of advice you ever gave me.

from a daughter who smiled every time she looked up in the crowd at a dance competition and saw you cheering her on.  

From a Momma's Adult

from a daughter who loves giggling with you.

from a daughter who misses you ever day and wishes she lived closer to you.

from a daughter who still looks up to you as her hero.

from a daughter who loves you more than you will ever know.

Happy Birthday Momma! Wish I could be there to spend it with you!

Melt in Your Seat Kinda Video

We found this video the other day and considering how it has been playing on repeat ever since around here, I thought I'd share it with you :)

His voice... sigh... Her voice... double sigh

This song was MEANT to be a duet.

Oh my gosh I know right???!   I can't get over it.

They are going BIG places, that's all I gotta say.

The Itsy Bitsy Spider Put Up My Fall Decor

Fall is in the air and I'd have to say next to summer, it is my favorite season!
Out come the cardigans and jeans.
The fall activities begin...
corn mazes
hot chocolate
pumpkin carving
jumping in piles of colorful leaves

But what is even MORE exciting about this wonderful Fall season is that we now have our very own place to decorate! (insert shout of joy)

I only have a few things and very little shelve space but that wasn't going to stop me. :)

I'm in love with my new cloche jar and am excited to get creative in decorating it for the upcoming holidays. Here is how it looks like for Fall!

Pumpkin-Sierra's, Potpourri and Mason Jar-T.J. Maxx, Vase-Real Deals

Spider-Real Deals

I love this little spider. He was a great addition we got this year! 

Got this "Along Came a Spider" Printable HERE (I love The House of Smiths) and framed it in a clearance frame I got from Real Deals.

What's your favorite thing about Fall?

BOOs and BOOETTEs

Yesterday Nic and I made these fun little M&M ghosts for the youth at our church!

BOOs - Young Men (in a bow tie)

BOOETTEs- Young Women (with a bow on her head) 


I will be linking these cute little ghosts at The 36th Avenue, Blue Cricket Design, and Tatertots & Jello 

Have any Halloween parties coming up?? These would be GREAT to make and are so easy!

You will need....

Ribbon

Permanent Marker

M&Ms 

Tissue Paper

Tape

Cut the tissue paper into squares. (the bigger the square the longer your ghost will be)

We used about 12 M&Ms to make the head of each ghost.

Gather the M&Ms in the middle of the tissue paper and twist to hold it all together (this is the part where you want to make sure you don't twist too hard.. yep, I tore the head right open, oops!

Tie a bow around the boy's neck and a knot around the girls!

Tape a bow to the girl's head!

Add cute little faces... this is where you can get creative :)

....and there ya have it!

They turned out pretty cute if I do say so myself. 

You Think You Know a Person.....

You know someone for a while, we'll say 2 1/2 years.
You think you know everything there is to know about that person... their history, their family, their personality, what makes them laugh, what makes them cry, what makes them tick, and then
BAM
they shock you one morning with a story about how they used to be a black market wheel and dealer in the fifth grade.

Who encouraged kids to buy their holiday Mcdonalds toys from home.
Who got kids to use the money their parents gave them.
Who managed to make $30 in a month.
Who would sell other kids' toys for them and keep part of the profit for himself.
Who was considered the "go to guy".
Who eventually go caught.
Who was disappointed when the school principal shut down his thriving business.

Yes folks, this little black market "go to" boy that I thought I knew everything about is my husband... his former glory fifth grade self.

A Weekend Away

Another amazing weekend in Boise has come and gone... sigh

My Momma. My Best Friend. My Favorite Person. My Twin

If you don't believe the twin part, we are wearing matching USNA sweatshirts to prove it!
We spent the whole weekend giggling and staying up late talking just like we always do. 

Fulfilling his Boise craving from the freezer of his favorite mother-in-law... RASPBERRY SHERBERT

Hands down I have the most beautiful mom on the block AND she says the funniest things in the world! Like when we went to get our hair done together on Friday night, I tried to get her to branch out from her usual style. I always thought she would look adorable with an A-line so I encouraged her to go for it. It went something like this....

Me: "Mom, you would look adorable with an A-line. You should try it!" 

The hair stylist agreed: "Yeah you should, look at Meagan she became a brunette!"

Mom: "Yeah but she's brave."

Hair Stylist: "No, I think it is because Nic likes brown hair."

Me eaves dropping in on the conversation: "Yeah! Nic likes Brunettes!"

Mom: "Well maybe I'll meet a guy who likes A-lines!"

haha It still gets me EVERY time. Maybe you had to be there but man is she sure a HOOT. 

My Handsome DATE

My Best Friend

Went to my best friend's little sister's wedding. 

boy was that a mouthful

The bride looked beautiful.

The wedding was beautiful.

The weather was beautiful.

Everything turned out beautiful!

The CAKE

I LOVE how this picture turned out. Somehow the background is a little blurry and the cake is completely in focus.
Yes, I planned it that way, I could totally repeat this anytime!
YEAH RIGHT.


Hope y'all had as fun of a weekend as we did!

Change

There is something I struggle with,
I have for my whole life,
and that something is CHANGE.
Sometimes I'll have a moment when I have the courage to make a big change but then the moment passes me by and I slip right back in my comfortable routine.

I'm sure you probably know this about me by now...
like when you found out HERE that I pretty much eat the same things every day
-or-
HERE, in my letter to high school me.

Well 4 years ago I went through one of the biggest changes of my whole life and guess what... I still struggle with it.
I moved away to college.
For the first time I was leaving everything I had known and every one that I loved behind.
I packed up my things and drove off in to the sunset hoping that I had made the right decision.
With tears streaming down my cheeks I looked through my rear view mirror one more time. Then I pulled myself together and I faced one of the greatest changes in my entire life.

Looking at where I am now, I can tell you that both great things and hard things have come from that decision I made. I have learned that I love teaching more than anything, it is my passion and my avenue to change the world. I have grown to be independent and strong. I met and married the man of my dreams. 
I know I was meant to come here for all of it.

But there is also something hard that came from it, something I still struggle with every day despite all of these great things.
I moved away from my best friend.

She had been by my side since I was in 8th grade. We were attached at the hip. We spent countless hours talking about boys, watching Friends, having sleep overs, eating pickles, and giggling about things that other people probably wouldn't even think was funny. We have cried together, laughed together, and shared every other emotion in between. She is my favorite person and I love her more than words can say.

When I moved away I was scared. I'd been through this before (friend moved away, grew apart, and no matter how hard I tried it was never the same). I didn't want that to be me and Sara and I hoped with all my heart it never would be. The days went by and our text and phone calls became fewer and far between but I still thought about her every day. I moved away to Pocatello and she stayed in Boise to go to cosmetology school. I remember one of the first few times I came home I was surprised to see that she had changed. I'm sure that I did too I just didn't even know it. She had always agreed with the things I thought before but now she was very opinionated and stubborn.... and well, so was I so you can imagine where that leads sometimes haha  Most of the time when I come home, we pick up right where we left off, like no time had even past.

I went home this weekend and was reminded of how painful change can feel and how much I struggle with it all over again.

Whenever I looked around the room she was with the friends she gets to see every day, laughing with them, joking with them... I admit it, I was 100% jealous. It was silly really and I feel bad about it.
As much as I didn't want to feel this way, it stung when I looked at my friends who "replaced" me in a way and I just wished things were different.

Sometimes I wish it were easy and I could just move back right now and fix everything so that it is right back to how we used to be. Instead I will try and fix it from here, no matter how hard I have to try.

After all, boys aren't as fun as girls anyway right?! :)

A Fairy Tale Answer

I know, I know,
I have been MIA all week!
One word that describes this week...
Midterms. (a.k.a miserable)
But in the midst of this long week of late nights, numerous hours spent studying, and a couple of 6 page papers... I got a message from one of my sweet friends asking me "how I knew it was right to marry Nic" and my week got a little better. You see, I love thinking about Nic let alone talking about him. After reading this I think you would agree that he is way more fun to read about then physics notes.

I read the message once and knew right away how to answer, it was simple really.
But then after I thought about it for a few minutes, I knew that it went much deeper.

The simple answer was that I just KNEW.
I knew I never wanted to spend the rest of my life with anyone else.
It was a feeling.
I didn't have any doubts.
I was in love with him.

I believe there is a difference between loving someone and being IN love with someone and although I have loved before, he was the first person I had ever been IN love with.

But honestly, I know my love for him goes much deeper than that.
There were things I was looking for in a husband and I found all of those things in him.
No, he is not perfect but neither am I.
The things I loved about him outweighed any flaws he could ever have.

We shared the same beliefs, the same faith, the same love for God.
He would pray WITH me, pray FOR me.
It was the way he loved my family and how much my family loved him right back.
It was how much he made me laugh at silly things.
It was the fact that he opened every single door for me and was the most thoughtful man I had ever known.
He loved romance just as much as I did.
A day never went by when he didn't tell me how beautiful he thought I was.
He took me on dates, got to know me, and loved me for ME.

All of these things that I loved about him, made me fall in love with him and know he was the right one for me.

My relationship with Nic was like I was living my very own fairy tale and I spent many days wondering when something would go wrong. I thought, "a relationship can not be this right, this easy, this perfect"... and Nic spent every day over the first few months convincing me otherwise, and when I fell in love with him I knew it was true.

It was a fairy tale answer.
HE was my fairy tale answer.

The Creatures On My Ceiling

Sometimes late at night when Nic and I can't sleep,
We pull out the flashlight and search for creatures on our ceiling.
It brings out the little kids in us and the giggling begins.

What we found last night....

and then 15 minutes later he has lost interest and I'm left finding creatures by myself. SIGH
Well it was fun while lasted.

Pretzel Bites and Cheese

We tried a new recipe this weekend that was Amazing!
Pretzel Bites and Homemade Cheese Dip
It is a must try, seriously.

I found it on Pinterest of course but you can find the step-by-step recipe at this lovely little blog.... www.justgetoffyourbuttandbake.com

We got to use our cute little fondue pot we got for a wedding gift for the second time, love that thing!
and this is how they turned out...

clearly he enjoyed himself :)