Gooiiinnnggg to the chapel....

I am starting to wonder when I will EVER begin a post thinking "wow, it's been a while....where do I start"

Who knows the answer to that question?  It's certainly not me.  I always vow to be better the next week or day, but then I get busy lazy and fall short on my promise.

The most exciting news I can think of that has happened recently is my bestie Alicia getting ENGAGED!! It seriously warms my heart to know that she has found such a terrific guy to share her life with...and I could NOT be more excited for them.  The moment she called Friday to announce her AMAZING news, I could not stop smiling from ear to ear.  I literally felt like I had just gotten engaged all over again....what a great start to a fantastic weekend!

Our 4th of July was fairly low key, we celebrated it at the lake with family and friends and zero fireworks (booooo).  Friday we met up with some of Gerad's family for dinner and visiting at the lakehouse and then we headed to Lake Coleman for the weekend with the Wilson/Gordon clan.  We ate good, slept good and soaked up the sun all weekend long.  Although I wish we would have been able to celebrate with a little firework action, I didn't think the risk was worth the reward and we all opted out of shooting ANY fireworks while the burn ban was on. 

Last night we wrapped up the weekend with  three rented movies and a pallet (sp?) on the living room floor.  I would NOT recommend watching Hallpass for any of you that have not seen it, however The Dillemma and Unknown were def. better choices.  Anyhow, headed to start checking off things on my to-do list before the Bride-to-be and her Maitron of Honor have their first official wedding planning meeting dinner tonight!  Later gators!

I am officially a.....

Once again, my vow to blog more frequently has been broken.  Sorry to all who I kept waiting on the intimate details of my our exciting, fun-filled lives.  Ok...I really am sorry, but that is about the only part of that statement that is correct.

This past weekend we ventured across the state border into OK territory.  We stayed with the Strout's at their lake house on Lake Texoma and had THE BEST time!  It was a fairly eventful weekend that included, some face contusions (for myself), $400 worth of lost sunglasses within 5 minutes of each other (for Gerad and Strout) and 4 hours of being stranded at sea in the middle of the night....ok at lake.  I tend to throw some dramatics in here and there.  All in all, a great time was had and we absolutley cannot wait to get back to visit them soon!  Here is the last photo of the sunk sunglasses....RIP, you will be missed.

I especially love how Brandon is holding a beverage....and Gerad a cookie.  My husband is a child at heart.

So this week, Tuesday to be exact, something historic and amazing happened in my life.  I PASSED MY CDL. WOOHOOOOOOO doesn't even begin to describe it.  I feel like this test(s) has been hanging over my head all year and something I am always working on in the back of my mind.  But NO NO NO MORE my friends...it. is. a. done. deal.  I can officially drive the yellow dog.  hollerrrrr.

I also started my summer camp Tuesday, which brought me to a realization...................wait for it..................
No matter how much I am enjoying summer and my time off right now, I still miss my kiddos and coaching.  It was nice to be able to get back in the gym and see my kiddos that I coach, and then watch them coach their kiddos.

Well I have a to-do list to get to before we leave for Houston tomorrow to celebrate the bachelorette/bachelor parties for Kendall Jackson and Derek David, so I had better get on it.  First on the list, a massage. Ha! 

winner winner, chicken dinner!

Let's see....I left off with Aimee coming to visit me last week....last Sunday to be exact (oops...I apologize for being so behind)  Well Monday morning we slept in, visited Starbucks (of course...I mean, if you know Aimee you know she is nothing without her Starbucks once a day) and then headed to Arlington to do some shopping at The Parks.  I introduced Aimee to her first Nordstrom's some time ago, so I figured it only fitting that I also introduce her to Nordstroms's Off The Rack.  She was amazed, just as I suspected....we also spent WAY too much money, just as I also suspected.  Our husbands, were not so thrilled with our finds, but I will say her's seemed to be slightly more comforted that he also got some items....mine, not so much.  Although, as a side note, I will say when I offered to take his clothes back, he replied with "well I may as well keep them, they are already hanging in my closet."  uuuhhh-huh. sure sure honey.  The day continued with our other stops and then we finally decided we'd had spent enough and we headed on over to Saginaw.  She wanted to see our lot and my school...so I gladly gave her the grand tour of both our campus and our future neighborhood.  I never thought our school would impress her so much, however, I am glad it did, because now I am hoping the little seed I have been planting in her and Josh's head about him pursuing a job at our brand new HS opening in 2013, is a full grown plant!  The next day we didn't do a whole lot, Aimee wasn't feeling well and I was just feeling lazy, so we watched some TV, took Ella to the vet, went to Yogurtland (another first timer for her) and almost died...due to my poor driving and/or sense of direction.   None of you may think the concrete bases on light poles are that big while merely passing by...but let me tell you, when you look up from your GPS to see your hopping the curb and now 5 feet from one....those look GINORMOUS....and very intimidating.  yikes....thank goodness for good brakes.  That night Josh came in from his camp in Frisco and we ordered pizza and watched the Mavs DOMINATE! WOOHOOO!

The rest of my week was fairly un-eventful...other than the fact that I have been practicing bus driving EVERY morning bright and early.  What a great sight right....?  Me driving the old yellow dog around Saginaw....cruising up and down Saginaw Main, Blue Mound....and wait for it....820!  I am 100% certain I have gotten at least 10-20 double takes from other drivers on the road who see us training...I would imagine they are having thoughts that are somewhere around "why in the world are they letting a student drive that bus"  But I must say...other than my parallel parking, my skills aren't half bad.  My parallel parking always ends up straight to the curb, just sometimes slightly over the 18 inches allowed.  It's a work in progress.  Hopefully Friday I will be able to test with the DPS and be done with my CDL process, wow....it is so exciting to even just say type.

Well, it's Wednesday so I will throw in a few WILW....and since this is supposed to be "our" blog....I will try to make this "What WE Love Wednesday"

First and foremost, we LOOOOVVEEE that the Mav's took home the Championship TROPHY!!  We are so, so ECSTATIC that they finished the classless Heat off in 6 games and are getting the title they finally deserve.  GO MAVS! 

Secondly, we love that we are going to Lake Texoma this weekend with some of our oldest and very, very dear friends the Strout's!  I hate that we live so far away from this AWESOME family, but from now on out I am vowing to not let this much time go by without seeing each other!  They are an absolute blast to be around and couldn't be sweeter...this weekend trusts to be a GREAT time!


Thirdly,  (warning....cheesy statement alert) we both love that we get to be married to the other and come home to one another every day.  Now, if you know Gerad, he isn't the cheesy romantic type...not that he is not very, very sweet to me....but just not into the cheesy, lovey-dovey statements.  He just now walked in from his softball game....which he won, of course, because my husband is an athlete....anyways, and I asked him what he was loving today.  After a second or two of thought, he leaned down to kiss me and said "coming home to you"....which is EXACTLY what I was thinking my third WILW statement would be.  I love, love, love that man and his terribly forgetful mind, his Justin Bieber hair and his video game loving self.  I will stop gushing for all of your sake...but I am sure you get the picture, I am a lucky, lucky girl. 

 



summer has arrived.

I am going to start off by warning you about the randomness and/or shortness of this post for two reasons....

1)  It is past 1 a.m. and I am sure sleepiness will set in at ANY minute seeing that I am normally snoozing by 10 or 11 p.m.
....aannddd.....
2)  I may or may not be watching New Moon on HBO....and I can't lie when I say, at times, Jacob is slightly distracting in this movie....

I guess I will start from where I left off at the last blog.  Last weekend was fairly eventful....Friday night Gerad and I got our date night on with dinner and a movie on West 7th.  After dinner at La Familia we had some time to kill before The Hangover 2 started, so we strolled over to Boomerjack's and hung out with Katy and Dustin for a while.  Saturday morning we had to be in Saginaw at 10:30 to pick out "colors" on our house.  This task started off fairly easy when it came to granite, paint color, appliances and back splash.  When we moved on to carpet and tile it got slightly more difficult and stressful.  But let me tell you....by the time we were working on outside brick, stone and paint color....I was full on sweating from the stress.  The outside of the house is the very first thing people see....and for most people it is THE ONLY thing they see...EVER.  I mean we only had so many bricks to choose from that are "available" right now and then we couldn't go with any of them that were on either side of our house lot or across the street.  On top of that, seeing them with stone we didn't care for or without stone at all completely changed the game as well.  Talk about stress...but luckily just when we had given in and decided to drive out to Mansfield where there is an addition FULL of Bloomfield homes, as opposed to Creekwood, which has had about 5 different builders in it throughout the building process.  Anyways, we got an email the next day with several pictures of model homes with different bricks and stones, we sorted through the pictures and FINALLY....we found THE brick and it was paired with THE perfect stone.  Now all that is left to do pick an outside paint trim color and sit down with our final meeting with the builders...and then building is officially underway.  After that excitement stress we sat down for a quick lunch at Flip's then were off to get Gerad a haircut. 

That night we went and played a little poker with some co-workers/friends and Gerad lost $40 in about 20 minutes....needless to say from then on out it was a long night for him, seeing how it was MY co-workers.  Either way, he was a sport and let me stay and visit with friends...I ended up having a great time, regardless of the drop in our bank account. 

Sunday, I attended worked my first SHS graduation at the FW Convention Center...and it was so great watching my seniors graduate and start their first steps toward life after high school.  I had three seniors on my varsity gymnastics team and they were ALL three top 10% in their class...at a 5A high school....that. is. AMAZING.  Those three made me so proud in and out of the gym ALL year long, so it was a great feeling to watch two of them give the introduction and prayer and then watching all three of them walk across the stage.  I will miss those girls next year, but I do know that ACU, Texas A&M and Tarleton will be getting three AWESOME additions to their campuses.  After graduation I came home and cleaned up the apartment and got ready for Aimee, my college roomie & matron of honor to come stay with us for a few days.  The eventful-ness continued throughout the week....but I will save that for a later blog. 

P.S.--I hope you all like the new facelift I gave my blog!  I FINALLY figured it out...in between games of Mario on the Wii....aaahhh sweet summertime.

what I love...and don't love.

Wednesday....Why not do "what I love Wednesday".....but disclaimer notice, I have had somewhat of a frustrating day...so there could be some of what I do NOT love.

First and foremost....I love, love, LOVE that school is out for the summer.....TOMORROW!  My first year in high school coaching a varsity team was absolutely WONDERFUL...however, that does not mean I am not in need of a break after such a crazy year (getting engaged, married, moving and starting to build a house) whew.  I get exhausted just thinking about it all....but let's be honest, I would do MOST of it over again.

Second....I am loving this season of the Real Housewives of Orange County...I waited such a long time for it to come back on, and then even started wondering if it was coming back on period, so it is good to have the girls (and their girls back...ha).  What I do NOT love is the fact that Grey's Anatomy (with a mediocre ending) and Gossip Girl (which went out with a bang) are not back on until SEPTEMBER!  How will I ever wait that long to know Blair's relationship fate?!?! aaaahhhh.


Third--this Sunday is the MTV Movie Awards...which normally I would not be excited about, I probably wouldn't even know about or plan on watching to be honest.  So, why the premature excitement you ask....?
Weeellll...during the awards will be the first preview of BREAKING DAWN!  I just got chills thinking about it.  I will be dvring this...and playing over and over again to hold me over until November.  (stop judging me for being a Twi-Hard...if I am ok with it, you should be also)  What I do NOT love about Breaking Dawn is the fact that I still have to wait 6 plus months for the first movie to come out....and then another YEAR for the second.  How will I ever make it?!?



Lastly....did I mention school is out TOMORROW?!? Ok...that's not really last on my list, I just wanted to make sure you all remembered that I am done, done and done tomorrow! 

I am loving that this Saturday we have an appointment to pick out "colors" aka tile, carpet, granite, wood, paint, etc. for our house!  We are SO excited and it just makes this process feel even more REAL!  Updates on what we chose coming soon....

....I bet you guys still reading are glad I got away from the tv and/or movies I was loving :) 

goodnight bloggers!



weekend wrap-up

oohh ABC....you sucked me into the Bachelorette,once again, even though I am not an Ashley fan.  I wouldn't say I am as anti Ashley as Bentley seems to be...but only time will tell what is real and what is not.  On one hand...I will have a bit more free time because Gossip Girl, Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice and Desperate Housewives are over for now....so I guess I will be able to squeeze in the Bachelorette. 

So some long weekends are just more needed than others...do you agree?  This long weekend was SO nice.  Gerad and I headed to Abilene to spend some time with my family for my mom's birthday on Friday and headed back Sunday...after lounging, shopping and visiting.  Saturday night we went to eat with one of my very best friends and her husband, Aimee and Josh.  After a pitcher...or two....of margaritas, Aimee proceeded to tell the table a story....long story short, at the end she wrapped it up with the most classic quote ever. 

"Obviously hindsight is 20/50....but there isn't much to be done about it now" 

20/50 huh?  Is that better than 20/20? Maybe you had to be there to get as much joy out of it as we did....but take my word, it. was. funny. 

Today we knocked out just about all of the furniture shopping we needed to do for the new house...it was...eventful?  a little stressful at times....and fun too.  After we finished up, we headed out to Eagle Mountain lake for some fun in the sun with friends....aahhh. I need to live on a lake.....SERIOUSLY.


2 & 1/2 days left of school....but whose counting?!? 

WILW

It has been a while since I blogged and I don't have much time (due to the fact it is 10:30 and WAY past my bedtime) so I decided to jump on the "What I Love Wednesday" bandwagon.  Here we go....

First off...I love, love, love this sweet little teddy bear face.  Her favorite place to nap is on her mama while she gets her belly rubbed.  It is also one of my favorite things...I could lay with this angel all day.

I am really, reallyyyyy loving that they started the groundwork on our new house...ok well, it is just a lot now...but SOON, as in September soon, it will be our beautiful new home!

Today, this little beauty shipped....and let me tell you....I need a new phone cover.  Especially one this fun, bright and summery.  Thank you Kate Spade.

My mom is coming this weekend...and while this one doesn't have a picture as of now, I will def post one later, but a Mother's Day picture will work for now, right?  Anyways, she is coming to be my shopping buddy and we decided to get some painting in on Saturday night.  Painting With A Twist....here we come.  Spending time with my momma is one of my absolute FAVORITE things to do.  I have been so excited since Monday knowing she was coming!

And lastly, I love my husband for so many, many reasons....even one being his hard-headedness :)

Goodnight blog spot!

soon to be....

Saturday April 30th was a BIG HUGE day in the Morris Family.  We signed a contract to begin building our very own house....which also happens to be our very first house together!  Our house will be in the Creekwood addition in Saginaw, Texas....which happens to be right down the street from my home away from home....Saginaw High School.  We are beyond excited and relieved to have finally made this very big, very important decision and absolutley cannot wait to be in our brand new house.  Here is a picture of the view from what will one be our backyard in a few short months!

Here is a few more pictures of us as the soon-to-be homeowners!  We are beyond words!

And a shot of us on our lot....future home of Gerad, Stormey, Ella and Kinsler Morris.  YAY!

Speaking of Ella....last night before bed I was taking my medicines...yes I said medicineS plural....as in, I am basically an old lady who has a pill organizer.  Anyywwaaayyyss....and I popped out a BC pill which then fell to the floor right in front of Ella (who follows me everywhere)   Before I could get to it....she got to it....and it soon disappeared into her mouth and then her tummy.  I naturally freaked out a little and then calmed down thinking it couldn't hurt her, right?  Just as I start thinking that, Gerad asks what is going on and replies with..."geez, I hope it doesn't kill her".....cue the panic.....again.  So I made him google it, and apparently this has happened to other people and it did not hurt their dogs, other than making them thirsty or have an upset tummy.  Crazy dogs.....

Well I am off to bed after a long and blessed day with our family at the hospital.  We are so very, very thankful that Gerad's Grandpa's surgery went so incredibly well, our God is good great.  Please continue to keep his recovery and health in your prayers.



forgiveness.

"There is no love without forgiveness, and there is no forgivenss without love"


Forgiveness has been weighing very heavy on my mind here lately in many areas of my life...and while I have alot of various opinions on it...whose to say what is right and what is wrong?  Do you have to forgive AND forget?  Or is just forgiving acceptable?  How are you supposed to erase a memory or emotion just because you agreed to forgive someone?  I feel like never thinking about something that clearly hurt or upset or "burned" you EVER again just because you agreed to forgive....is kinda crazy....maybe even impossible.  

Well short post today....but I will leave you with a picture of one of my many happy places....with some of my best friends and one of the funnest groups I know.  And believe me, after 2 full days of TAKS and 2 more to go....I want need this happy place.

Floatin down the Guad....aaahhh heaven. 

begging for relief.

I have been tempted to blog many, many times the past few late nights/early early mornings....buuuutttt I decided against it because I didn't want to wake my sleeping husband and/or daughter.  I guess I had much rather toss and turn in the dark begging for relief from the extreme pain and discomfort in my lower back and legs.  The past few weeks have literally been a living nightmare for me....and probably everyone else that has to be around me, especially my poor husband and mother.  As some of you may know, I have a herniated disc in my lower back...L2 to be exact.  It seemed to be under control and causing minimal daily pain during the few months leading up to the wedding, so per my doctors orders, I slowly stopped taking my medicine, which works as a nerve blocker.  When the pain came back around March, I made an appointment and he put me back on my medicine and prescribed a higher dosage of pain medicine.  Well....April is here (and almost gone) and the pain has only managed to get worse.  Why exactly is this a living nightmare you ask....? Because I am sure everybody lives with some discomfort here and there....and I am sure there are people worse off than I am.  But the problem I am having is not being able to participate in 3 things that I love with a passion due to back pain....
First, working out--now don't get me wrong, I can go work out, and if I am careful, there is minimal pain at the time....but the next day is a whole another story.  I have tried every class and activity under the sun and there doesn't seem to be too much that doesn't flare up the problem within 24 hours.  Second is spotting.  My back pain is making it difficult impossible to spot without pain or fear that I will injure it even more.  The doctor has obviously asked me to stop spotting until my appointment next week, but sometimes that is a very difficult thing to do as a gymnastics coach.  It's hard to remind yourself to stay on the side lines all the time...when you just want to jump in and be there for your athletes.  Last but not least....SLEEPING.  The more I do the previous two, the less I sleep....and even then, some nights I still don't sleep without tossing, turning and waking up every hour.  Now at this point you may be wondering why I don't just take a pain pill and stop whining....or you may have stopped reading due to complete lack of interest....either way....this is my blog, take it or leave it.  Back to my pain pills...apparently they bring on massive migraines.  So while sleeping through the night is UH-mazing, waking up puking/nauseated with a pounding headache and extreme sensitivity to light and noises....is not so uh-mazing.  Such a dilemma, I know.  I am hoping Dr. Kay and his injections can give me some relief....soon!


And speaking of injury related topics...if you are on my fantasy team and reading this....TAKE CAREFUL NOTES:

You need to get well and stay well....5 players on the DL 3 weeks in is NOT. OK.  Joe Mauer....is weakness in the legs SERIOUSLY your problem? COME ON...you make millions, you and your "weak" legs suck it up and earn your pay.  Feliz, Martinez and Longoria....please hurry back.  Phill Hughes...I don't care when you come back, I traded you.

Next up....photos from my newest obsession, PAINTING WITH A TWIST!  SO SO SO much fun!  My mom and I went to our first session Saturday night while Gerad and his groomsmen, plus our dads, plus a few other friends were at the Ranger game.  We painted a red cross with scrolls and I cannot say that I am 100% happy...but it was still ALOT of fun!

I am going this Saturday with Mindi and have already scheduled one in May with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law....pictures of those paintings to come!

Just because I am picture happy...I snapped this on Ella's 4 month old birthday....I hope you enjoy looking at this cutie as much as I do....

This was her helping mom get ready for work....she really is the absolute sweetest puppy you will find.

Weeelllll....even though I haven't blogged about the activity that has been dominating our life time...I will be saving that for next time...it is a whole another blog.  Trust me.

spending on the brain.

So Thursday, Friday and Saturday OFFICIALLY concluded the 2010/2011 Gymnastics season.  And while my girls did not qualify for the state competition....our Saginaw Rough Rider men did...and TOTALLY ROCKED IT!  Here is a picture of the boys with their 3rd place trophy...

The boys, and their coach, deserved this HUGE HUGE honor more than I can even say....they worked their bottoms off all year and had to go up against some REALLY tough teams, with really great gymnasts.  Along with placing 3rd in the state, 4 of the boys also qualified for event finals.  It was just so much fun watching them be SO successful at such a huge competition and I am already fired up for next season!

Today Gerad and I went on our 3rd house hunting trip of our search....well my third, his second....but whose counting??  On our first search we found two amazing houses, in the same addition.  The second trip was spent with the realtor and my mom only, due to Gerad being out of town on business, and we found 3 more amazing houses...and lots of no's.  Today we took Gerad back to see those three and what do you know, one of them had produced 4 offers between Wednesday and today....and one of the first houses was also sold....it was a bummer, but nothing we will lose sleep over.  We have narrowed it down to four houses and both agree on our top 2.....EXCITINGGGGGG.  And while I know the process is nowhere close to over, it still leaves me feeling like we have found the perfect house in SUCH a short time....is that normal?  How long does the average person look?  It also leaves me feeling very annoyed at our apartment on a daily basis....and even more annoyed at myself because I am a TERRIBLE saver.................. but an AMAZING shopper and spender.  I am not sure that is good qualities....buuuttt luckily I married a man who is not as amazing of a spender (which is usually the case right?) 

So I am going to try and get out my shopping needs/wants/urges on my blog instead of getting out my our debit card.  Here is what I am currently wanting....

Hudson's ^

Seven's ^ 

So I love my love love my white flared leg denim jeans....but now I need skinny's.  So the question is....Hudson's or Seven's?  And a more important question....will my husband let me have them? :)
Next on the list...Michael Kors, you have my heart with these.

I have had my eye on these since February and I didn't indulge then, but I can't lie, everytime I get dressed and pick out an outfit that these NEED to be in...it gets harder.  And lastly....I need new denim shorts....these are what I am loving now, but of course, they do not have them at the NorthEast Nordy's, so maybe I will find something similar....

So that people...is what I need want from Nordy's......Gerad, take notes, I am handing you a direct link to the perfect gifts, you know, just in case you need to butter me up with a gift or two....

alive and well.

I am a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad blogger.  Forgive me?

Our gymnastics season ended last Thursday night after the regional meet and since then I have had not one reason not to blog, other than the fact I have been enjoying leaving school before the sun is down and playing catch up to all the tasks I let go due to the strenous season schedule. For example...thank you cards from the wedding.  These little beauties have been going out in batches, and the last batch...well, it went out quite some time ago.  My sincere apologies.

So, my girls finished 3rd at our district meet, which qualified them to continue on to regionals.  Here is a picture of my babies high schoolers after districts! 

They truly are THE best team a coach could ask for, and I could not feel more blessed after finishing my first year as a Varsity coach.  They are such an amazing group of girls, with huge hearts and great personalities. 

Such a fun season...I was sad it ended Thursday, but their region is THE toughest in the state and only the top 3 qualify.  They ended up placing 9th out of the 19 teams there, so I was pleased with their effort and overall improvement on the season.  I am already looking forward to next season.....after I finish recovering from this one :)

In other news, Gerad and I have a new little darling in our household.  We picked her up the Saturday after we got home from our honeymoon and she couldn't be more precious...

This is Ella, our tiny teacup maltese....and she is every bit as beautiful as the picture shows.  We have had her for over a month though, and still can't figure out some of her odd habits....nor can she figure out this whole potty training thing.  We want her to pee...where?  On a potty pad or outside?! Anyways....we are working on that.  And as you can tell, Kinsler (our male cat) and her get along beautifully.....

But seriously....he is PRETTY good with her considering most of the time she is nibbling biting on his ears or tail.  Also, I am not sure who of you guys have pets with tearing problems....but if so, and you haven't tried Angel Eyes....go buy a bottle IMMEDIATELY.  This. stuff. is. phenomenal.
This next picture was literally taken RIGHT after her first grooming appointment....(yes, I am going there with before and after pictures)

This picture, the after, was taken tonight...just now.  Please excuse the no bow/crazy/"I just got done playing hard with daddy" hair.  But it was also taken after 2 and a half weeks on Angel Eyes and over a week since her last bath....

And now...you too can be a believer!  They have Angel Eyes for cats and dogs....and while it's a little on the pricey side, it's totally worth it to keep that beautiful white face tear-stained free!  My mom recently started my her older maltese, Chloe, on it and she has had the same amazing results.  And this is after 5 years of trying different tear stain removal products with no such luck.  Anyways, I will wrap up this marketing campaign blog on that note.

Married!

WELL. It's official. I am a MARRIED woman!  So with that being said....let's do a quick recap of the wedding weekend for those of you who were not in attendance....

Friday night the rehearsal (for the most part) and rehearsal dinner could not have been more perfect....let me say that when I talk about the dinner being more perfect than the rehearsal itself, it is only because my crazy wedding coordinator did not attend.  WOW, talk about flipping a switch....she sure did.  Anyways....I loved, loved LOVED hanging out with all of my family and closest friends while celebrating our upcoming marriage.  Everyone was SO amazing and excited for us, I could not have left the rehearsal dinner feeling more blessed.  To top off the night my MOH and bestie, Alicia, forfeited a night with her boyfriend, who does not live in the same town as her anymore, to stay with me before my wedding night.  Seriously. Blessed.

Saturday morning, I woke up surprisingly calm, and Aimee, my MATRON of honor picked Alicia and I up and we started our morning at Starbucks....and up to no good.  I am going to leave that as an inside joke to my bridesmaids and I, but just know....best wedding day EVER.  So after checking out the work the Country Club, Gary's Floral and our linen lady had done on the reception venue....we headed up to the church to start getting ready!  So with this being my first only wedding, I just want to say that the day leading up to it, went beautifully. (minus the best man being 30 minutes late...shout out, BENNETT)  I had an AMAZING time just being around 7 of my very best friends, my mom and some of my friend's family.  We ate, we gossiped, we schemed and we got gorgeous.  And by gorgeous...I mean GORGEOUS.  My bridesmaids were literally the best looking group I have ever seen...and when you threw in the boys....GREATEST looking wedding party in the history.  Sorry, just had to brag on them a bit :) 

Anyways, they were all OVERLY amazing and helpful in keeping me calm and making my day so easy and flawless.  Maybe I am biased, but my friends are. THE. best.

So, it's 3:00 and picture time....Jason did amazing as usual and made everything go smoothly (even though I do believe I snapped at him a couple of times....sorry Jason for letting bridezilla peek out once or twice).  Then after pictures me and Gerad did what was called a "first viewing".  We did this for a few reasons, the first being that we wanted to be able to take as many pictures as possible BEFORE the wedding and spend less time on it after.  Secondly, although I had held myself (and my tears) together really well up until ceremony time, I knew once I saw Gerad I would probably lose all composure altogether.  And boy was I right.  Jason set it up to where I was walked down the aisle halfway by my dad and then walked the rest of the way on my own.  Once I got to the alter I tapped Gerad and he turned around to meet and see me.  The feelings I had standing behind Gerad, facing his back, were indescribable.  I was overcome with SO many emotions including anxiety, nervousness (not about getting married though), joy and excitement.  As soon as he turned around, the tears (of joy) started flowing....but because the man I married is SO amazing, he immediately calmed me down and reminded me I probably wanted that eye make-up to stay intact :)

After pictures, there was a little time to touch up make-up and hair....to rest...and then it was go time.

So here is where the comedy starts....

First things first, Aimee, my beautiful (and sometimes clumsy Matron Of Honor) didn't quite make it up the stairs so gracefully, or so I have heard, I am still waiting to see the footage on that.  There may or may not have been a trip, a recover and another trip....oops.  I am sure she still looked gorgeous!  Moving on....during the middle of the call to worship and charge to us as the couple, we heard a few gasps and saw a look of somewhat surprise on our officiants face.  We turned to see that our flower girl had tumbled (literally) backwards down the stairs from the top and was laying flat on her back at the bottom of the stairs, legs spread eagle in the air, dress up to her waist....looking equally shocked.  At this point, complete concern took over me, and then when I realized she was fine, it took everything I had to not giggle in the middle of him speaking and re-compose myself, and keep in mind I didn't even know about the previous misstep.  The rest went fairly smooth....until we reached the candle lighting.  Isn't that where it always goes wrong?!

Well the morning started with us realizing the candles we ordered would not fit in the candle holders....that was easily solved with a butter knife and a little whittling action by Aimee and myself, she mostly just gave me moral support.   However, seeing that me and Gerad needed to use those to light the unity candle, I made sure to tell him to hold the base and the candle when we picked it up due to it either being lodged in there or barely in there.  What neither of us realized while looking at the candle set up was that the unity candle...didn't have a wick showing.  So when it came time to light this candle, in front of 300 plus people....Houston, we have a problem.  After trying for about 30 seconds and proceeding to melt the wax around where the wick SHOULD be, Gerad decided to use his finger to dig around in the hot wax and pull it up.  Well this worked (kinda).....and supposedly didn't hurt that bad. So we got the candle lit and then waited as our song (which was too long for Gerad in the beginning) to finish.  About halfway through the song, the flame flickered and then went out (the length of the song started looking pretty good about now).  We quietly discussed whether there was time to try again and decided that it was bad luck to leave it out.  Luckily the wedding coordinator had left a votive burning behind the set up because we had blown our individual candles out.  Gerad picked his individual candle up and re-lit it using the votive, then as he picked the unity candle up to re-light it, he forgot the two hands rule...and before we knew it, the heavy solid silver base crashed down onto the table, spinning and rolling and making about as much noise as one would think.  Cue the uproar of laughter from the audience.  As we discreetly laughed about the incident, Gerad also chose to use that time to tell me about Aimee "eating it" up the stairs....oohhh man.  A ceremony that I am sure won't soon be forgotten. 

After that we headed to the reception for such a GREAT night of family, friends and fun.  I love that SO many people came to support us and our marriage, it truly means the world.  However, I never dreamed that as a bride and groom you would be in SUCH high demand....but what do I know, I have never been a bride.  I knew we would make our way around the room and visit with all of our guests...but never did I dream there would be people that I (or we) never even got to speak with.  If that was you, or I barely acknowledged your attendance, I am terribly sorry and please do not think the guilt did not follow me straight to our honeymoon in Riviera Maya. 

Well, that is about all I can give you for now....I have a BEAUTIFUL sleeping baby Maltese in my lap and I am jealous she is the only one getting some shut eye.  Honeymoon and our new member to the Morris family to come soon....and TONS of pictures! 

Also, one last things....PLEASE everyone go to this link and comment on my bridal blog (if you have anything you would like to say that is)  Jason does WONDERFUL work and I try to market him whenever and wherever I can....I may or may not have given his website out in Mexico....I love him and his work, what can I say?

http://jasonmcd.squarespace.com/blog-work/2011/3/3/stormey-bridals.html

GO COMMENT!

long time no blog.

Ok, so let me start off by clarifying that I DO realize the point of a blog is to consistently update friends and family on the happenings of your life....however, when your life consists of moving, getting married and working 55 hour weeks on the regular....blogging may or may not go by the wayside.  My apologies.  Now....where to start??

Two weekends ago Gerad and I (and Jeremy) moved from the third story of one apartment building....to the third story of another.  YUCK.  Then, mid-move, Saturday afternoon I had my third wedding shower in Saginaw. It was hosted by the men's gymnastics coach's wife, the head volleyball coach and my sweet varsity girls.  The shower was extremely successful and I we got ALOT of awesome gifts that I cannot wait to use...in 5 or so months, when we are new home owners!  Anyhow, moving right along....after the shower, we continued the miserable move.  Now, I failed to mention that my poor fiance was diagnosed with the flu the Thursday BEFORE the Friday that we began this move....double yuck. 

Sunday morning, my mom and I woke up to drive to Abilene to take my bridals with my Matron of Honor Aimee and of course, my photographer (and friend) Jason!  Can I just say that they turned out UH-MAZING?!?  I literally cannot sing Jason's praise enough...and if you don't believe me, you should ABSOLUTLEY check out his blog and/or website.  And speaking of blog, I don't know who is more excited to post a few teasers of my bridals on their blog, me or him!  But that will just have to wait another 5 or so days...and seeing how I will be flying to the Riviera Maya with my fiance husband in 6 days, I am guessing Jason will beat me to the punch on posting. 

So I am now going to take this time to do some wedding talk.  I literally cannot believe my wedding is SO close.  It is a day I have been thinking about almost my entire life....whether it be playing dress up at 3 or crying myself to sleep one night because I never wanted to grow up, get married and leave my daddy.  Just to clarify, I was only about 5 or 6 at this point....but it is a very long running joke in our family that I will only get married if we are allowed to live with my parents forever.  The funny part is, I remember that night like it was yesterday.  And although I have no idea what triggered the sudden fear in me that someone was going to force me to get married and move away from my dad, I do know that at some point I would be crazy to not wish that one day our little girl (or boy) feels the same way about Gerad (or I).

Well, that is about all of the time I have for now, so I am going to go ahead and apologize for the lack of excitement in this blog and the next one I will try to make more exciting.....hopefully.  Coming up next...

• pictures of my previous 2 wedding showers
• pictures of this past weekend's birthday festivities
• my very, very current case of puppy fever
• my varsity girls season (up till this point)
• aannnddd let's be serious, probably more wedding talk.  That is if I make it back to the blog world before the actual wedding!

5 days and counting till I am a Morris! 

If you wanna hear God laugh.

the saying "if you wanna hear God laugh tell Him your plans" couldn't be more fitting these past few days.  If it isn't being sick, it's the bad weather...and frankly, I am getting a little fed up with both.  I know He has a plan for everything and is 100% in control, but knowing that and trusting that (without worry) are two different stories.

As of now, my Abilene shower is still on and we are hoping the roads clear up so that friends and family are able to attend.  My mom talked to my mother-in-law to be and her, Gerad's aunt and Gerad's grandmother are all still planning on coming to the shower if the roads allow.  That piece of news was enough to lift my sick spirits some, just knowing I would get to see all three of them tomorrow and that they care enough to brave the cold, the snow and ice to be here.  Have I mentioned how lucky I am to marry into that family?!?

I was supposed to take my bridal portraits this upcoming Sunday, but earlier today my mom and I decided to go ahead and cancel the shoot.  At first I was sure I could make it through a few hours of smiling and posing...but when it comes down to it, let's be serious....a shower wears me out, let alone hauling around a 10 (give or take a few) lb dress.  So, what does that mean you ask?  Weellll....it means next weekend I will leave Saturday afternoon, after my Saginaw shower, to drive back to Abilene and take bridals the next day.  Now in theory, this doesn't sound like THAT big of a deal....but what I haven't mentioned is the fact that we are moving into a different apartment that weekend.  Needless to say, I am just trying to get through this one day at a time. 

On another note, I am SUPER ready for my fiance to come home.  I miss him terribly and just really don't do that well with being apart from him.  It's pathetic I know, but can I blame part of it on being sick?  Anyways, I am off to read The Twilight Saga(for the 5th time, but who's counting?) on my shiny new Kindle Reader.  I will leave you all with a picture of what is on my mind....Gerad, and warmer weather. 



new toy coming up.

Day 2 and I think it is safe to say I am addicted to blogging already....or maybe that's the boredom of being snowed in and bedridden talking, either way....I'm back.

So I had doctor appointment number 4 in the past month today....guess what?  More meds, more chest x rays and more blood to be drawn, that is when the labs open back up tomorrow.  I am now being forced to do breathing treatments 3-4 times a day and an inhaler twice a day, along with the awful invention of a sinus cavity rinse.  Trust me...it's as brutal as it sounds.  Let me give you the idea:  It is a plastic bottle with an opening at the top that you are supposed to hold inside of one nostril and squeeze as hard as you can, so that the warm salt water inside, can clean out your sinuses and then come out the other nostril/your mouth.  Needless to say much more of my warm salt water ended up in my hair, on the bathroom counter/mirror and all over my face than it did actually in my sinus cavity.  Better luck next time I guess.  However, one positive thing that has come out of the sinus rinse is my mom giving in and buying me the Kindle Reader I have so desperately been wanting...just haven't ever pulled the trigger & bought.  The only catch is, I am required to do the sinus rinse once a day, everyday....without "whining"....whatever that means.  Those who know me well know that I would never, ever need a bribe to control my whining....and those who know me really well, know this statement couldn't be dripping with more sarcasm. 

So I will soon be the proud new owner of this amazing little gadget.  And could it possibly come at a better time?!? I am forced to stay inside, in bed at my parents with all of my quality reading material stuck in Fort Worth.  Along with that valid point, heellloooo....we will be honeymooners soon and I need something to occupy my airport/airplane time.  First item up for download....you guessed it....The Twilight Saga!  I am SO very very VERY excited to have these series at my finger tips EVERY moment of the day without lugging around the actual hard copy book (not that I don't love those also).  I am still debating on a black or white Kindle...thoughts anyone?


Moving on...I cannot believe how lucky fortunate I have been to have literally have not had to take one day off this entire week....yet I have been at home in bed the entire week!  I know most of you are going just as stir crazy as I am with all the snow and ice, however, I am considering it a blessing in disguise that I have been able to stay at home and rest/get well while not having to worry about if my high schoolers are being good for a substitute or if my varsity is actually practicing efficiently without me. 



I would like to give McDonald's and their employees a shout out for always being open during the past 4 days, even through the treacherous winter storms.  It was greatly appreciated by yours truly.  You see....when I am sick I am very picky about my diet or what sounds good, and through the past week or so I can say I have mainly been subsiding on McDonald's happy meals, Sprites, chocolate milkshakes, grilled cheese, Cokes and scrambled eggs.  I have never been one to reach for the soup when I am sick....but I def. reach for the calories!  However, I can honestly say this is the longest I have ever been this seriously ill.  I am going on a month of sickness and I cannot even tell you how great and amazing my friends, family and of course, Gerad have been.  I receive texts daily from multiple people checking on my health and being genuinely concerned with my well being.  It's a very overwhelming feeling thinking about all of these busy people stopping and taking time out of their days to check in on you and let you know that they are here if you need them to do anything.  I am very blessed to have the friends I have , the family I have, and the family I am marrying into, so thank you all for being so sweet. 

Have another great night indoors!

here we go.

Well I have been meaning to jump on the blog bandwagon for the past few months and I finally decided there is no time like the present...well that and the fact that I am bedridden due to bronchitis....flu....and possible pneumonia (the jury, or shall I say the doctors, are still out on the last one).  I have had an incredibly busy past few months and every time I read an inspiring blog that makes me want to dive right into my own....I think of all the wedding planning, cleaning and work stuff I could should be doing instead.

Speaking of wedding, how many days away is the wedding you ask?   24 short days away from marrying the love of my life!

Just a quick peek at my to-do list for the next few days:

-get rid of the awful germs/infections/viruses in my body
-enjoy an much needed facial (hopefully...I wouldn't dare make another human be that close to me with the flu still in my system)
-spray a tan on this pale body
-meet with the florist and finalize details
-attend my second of three wedding showers
-touch up highlights & decide on a wedding day hair
-take bridals with Jason McDonald, who happens to be THE most amazing photographer I know.  If you don't believe me...take a look:  http://www.jasonmcd.com/
-pack up our apartment for the move....NEXT WEEKEND.  (that one should have probably made it's way on to a to-do list before now....but with work and weddings and catching the flu, I just haven't had much free time)

I must admit, that list is a bit intimidating at this point, especially considering I am not even allowed out of bed at the moment.  However, I am hoping to check off #1 on the list fairly quickly so I am able to stay busy enough to not miss my hubby to be too much.  He and 15 of his closest boyfriends guy friends are on their way to Wolf Creek for a weekend of snowboarding and bachelor partying!  I can't lie, I am a HUGE baby when it comes to us being apart for more than....I'd say, 24 hours, but he has been looking forward to this since September and I know they will have an AMAZING time.  Ever since he started buying snowboarding gear and clothing for this trip he has been like a kid waiting on Christmas, it's quite adorable actually.  And although he knew he was leaving tonight or early tomorrow morning, he still made time (8 hours to be exact) to drive me halfway to Abilene, on completely iced over roads, to meet my mom so that I wouldn't be alone and sick while he was gone.  Before we left he also proceeded to pack my bags (under my supervision) and blow dry my hair for me when every ounce of energy I had was zapped by showering....I can't get over how lucky I am to marry this man.  God has truly blessed me with so much more than I could have ever imagined. 

Well, I am off to bed....but I will leave you all with a peek at my fabulous new bathing suit I am DYING to wear on our honeymoon....goodnight all!