He is RiSeN!

This Easter we spent it with our "family" at a small church that I used to be the Youth Director at. It is in a small town north east of Dallas called, Princeton. It is literally like a one room building that you walk in and you are standing in the sanctuary. So fun to get to be able to share such a special time in our Christian faith with so many people that mean so much to David and me.

Madison (one of our old youth), David and Myself.
Madison and Me

Our family. :) We love each one of them so much. We are so honored to have such wonderful friends, that even though we don't live in Dallas anymore - we can just pick right back up where we left off. Each one of them means something different to David and I, but oh how we love them so. Thank you for loving us the way you do!

Chris and Paaty. Thought this was a great picture of the two of them. They were gracious enough to let David and I stay (with all of our dogs!!!) while we were in Dallas this past weekend. Mom & Dad weren't a really big fan of the idea of having a shower at their house and having 7, yes SEVEN, dogs running around. lol... can't exactly blame them. :) Thank you so much for opening your arms to us Chris!!!! love you so much.

3 years, 4 months, & 4 days

According to my blog, David and I have been married for 3 years, 4 months and 4 days. I know it is sappy but the longer we are married the bigger my smile gets when I think about him. I just LOVE him! Of course, we fight and get on each other's nerves, and I promise I can't stand him at times (and ditto for him) but seriously, he is just so much fun to be with!
As you know life has been absolutely crazy the past couple of years, and we are finally in a place of peace. Life isn't perfect, but we are living life perfectly. David loves school and it seems like every day he is getting more and more things in the mail asking him to join this honor society or that! How cool is that!? :) At the end of May (May 21st) he will be a sophomore and will also be part of the School Business Honor Society (don't remember the greek names) and also the Louisiana Tech Honor Society. Words can not express how proud I am of him. He is just so stinkin' smart!!!
It is crazy how so many of our friends are having babies and more babies, but we just are living life to the fullest as a couple. One day kids will be part of our life, but right now we couldn't be happier just the two of us. There is a lady that lives in Arcadia that when she introduces people to her husband she says, "This is my sweetheart of 63 years and counting." How cute is that?!? All I can think of is, that is going to be David and I one day! :) Ok, enough blabbing. Here are some recent pics of us. He is truly my everything.

She is getting hitched... so we had a party!

This past weekend myself and Aly's best friend from Dallas, Chrisanne, threw Alyson her first bridal shower. I think overall it was a complete success! Alyson got lots of things off her gift registry's and the company was great to get to see. We had plenty to eat and some really fun games to play. :) I will let the pictures do most of the talking: I took so many! I just wanted to make sure Aly had pictures to look back on when she was married - that was one thing I didn't get a lot of pictures of my bridal showers when David and I were getting married. Anyway, here ya go!



Everyone who attended the shower; except me. (I am taking the picture).
Mom and Aly.

Mom, Aunt Nancy, Aunt Char, Aly, and Me.

Some highlights of the gifts she got: place settings of Fiesta, a DEEP fryer and spice rack!

We played three games. The first one was the Bridal Scramble. You had 10 mins to unscramble as many words as possible related to bridal things. The second game we played was a "match the pair game". Everyone got a name on their back and then had to go around the room and ask "yes/no" questions to try and figure out who was whom. The winners were Lucy & Ricky. :) The last game got the most laughs! We had 24 rolls of TP split into three teams and the team that made the dress most like Aly's won. :) It was quite humorous. No one knew what they were in for when they came to our shower! LOL.

Ms Cannon had the veil and flowers and everything!!! :) so FUN!

Look at all the detail in Ms Helen's dress! so impressive!!

Back of Debbie's dress

Front of Debbie's dress

Aly with Aunt Nancy, Mom and Aunt Char. Yes, Alyson is taller than all of them (myself included) however, she did have on 3-4inch heels, so it just amplified her height, lol. None the less I think it is a great picture.

Helen and Cherie paired as Lucy and Ricky.

The intense 10 minute Bridal Scramble. Some of the words really were HARD!

Chrisanne, Myself and Aly. (The 2 hostesses and the Bride to be!)

Aly's invite. I just randomly found these online and thought they were super cute and so "Aly". :)

Now you can see what I was talking about the heels... naturally I had decided to wear flats that day so really short. I am still 5"3 thank you very much! ;)

So David and I got in Thursday night and woke up early Friday morning to begin the daunting task of making 72 cupcakes! It was a blast. I always love getting to spend time in the kitchen.... I truly love it.

Cupcake tower.

spinach and cream cheese pinwheels. soooo good.

Here is a picture of a platter of cupcakes :) I made a variety just to make sure everyone found something they liked! The blue dot tops are dark choc with butter cream choc icing, the yellow dots are lemon with lemon butter cream icing, and the red dots are the red velvet with cream cheese icing. Yes, all of them were homemade. Soooo good!!

I also made these. They are called, "Whoopie Pies". I thought the name was very appropriate for a bridal shower and hello they were delish!! They were red velvet cake with cream cheese icing - such a hit! :)

The gorgeous flower centerpiece for the food table.

I thought these were SOO cute. Mom found them in Austin. They are Bride/Groom Toothpicks! How fun is that?

Chrisanne got these M&M's. They have "Aly & Matt" on some and others read "June 12, 2010". Such a cute shower idea! I def took notes for that one! ;)

It was a crazy busy day, but one that was definitely enjoyed. It was so great to get to catch up with some old family friends. I love planning and hosting parties. The more I do it the better I get. :) Hopefully by the time I get another shower again I will be an expert to help! lol. :)

....and Aunt Nancy was worried about our social life!

When David and I made the decision to move to Louisiana my Aunt Nancy called me (which never happens) so I figured something must have been horribly wrong! In all seriousness, Aunt Nancy asked me "Aren't you worried you wont have any friends there? You will just be bored out of your mind moving to Arcadia!" I simply smiled and said, "Aunt Nancy, thank you for your concern. I am a 'grown', married woman and have been on my own for over five years now, somehow I am sure we will manage." Hello! She has never been worried about my social life before! Why start now. :)
I have to admit there was a slight fear in mind that we might not make friends, or better yet with who and where would we find them? We didn't know ANYTHING about hunting, guns, bonfires, cutting trees, plumbing, handy work, or anything else "redneck"! (or so we thought...) But, don't worry y'all, God had our back's from the beginning! Moving over here has been nothing more than a complete blessing and total step in faith for us and God has beyond blessed our efforts. Not only do we have FRIENDS and several of them, we also have extremely fun social lives! I know it's crazy, who thought you could REALLY have fun in North Louisiana - I mean REALLY what is there to do! Ahhhh! For all of you that think that - come spend a week with us and see if you need a vacation from your "boring" week in La. :)
Our friends here we have not known for very long, but are incredible. We have two really close couple friends that we just adore. Both are amazing married peeps but more than that I have never had such genuine "adult" girlfriends. My prayer from the day David and I got married was to be able to find some really wholesome women that are God fearing, independent, smart women that I could relate with, be able to tell my life complaints to but also share my joys with and know that they really care. It is amazing that God has not only answered my prayer but double!
April is Philip's wife (he and David were separated at birth and just now reconnected...seriously). She would drop anything to help you in a heart beat. She has such a caring heart but yet can seriously hold her own! I love her so much and look forward to rocking on a front porch together when we are 90 yrs old.
Missy is a jewel. She has a fashion sense to die for and is the life of a party! She loves the Lord and has an incredible sense of humor. Together we are going to be some SERIOUS hotness this summer! :) I told her like the second time we went on a "date" (don't ask) that I felt like we were soul sisters. lol. Like you feel like you have known them for years.
Both of these women are simply gifts from God. They both have such respect for themselves and confidence to kill. I can not express how much it means to me to have two amazing chicks in my life. I love them so much.
David has also had some blessings of men in his life that are really incredible. First of all, Tim one of David's older brothers lives in Shreveport. It has been a transformation of a relationship between the two of them in the past year that neither would ever take back. It is awesome to be so close to family that is SOO fun to hang out with! :) Tim is also such an encouragement to us and both of us look up to him in so many ways.
David has also found some great mentors to lean on for guidance. Don't get me wrong, all of our friends we left in Dallas we are still very close to and love dearly. It is just incredible to watch how God provides your every need no matter where you live and how far apart people are. Philip and Doug are the other half's of my two girlfriends I mentioned above. They are both great guys. Each offering different qualities, David loves getting to hang out with each of them! :) (I know it is gay to talk like that, so I will stop - but I'm just sayin!!).
I just wanted to take a second to brag on some very special people in our life right now. We love everyone that we are so fortunate to call "our friends." Our social life is ANYTHING but boring!! We have a great time. You know you are "living" life when you LiVe for the weekends! :) After moving to Louisiana we have had an opportunity to re-learn things about each other that we had maybe put on the back burner for one reason or another. It is awesome to be able to ENJOY life. It doesn't matter how much money you make or where you live, or what kind of house you drive; if you can't honestly go to bed at night with a smile on your face excited about what the next day may bring - you might want to reconsider your priority list. Take it from a couple who had our list out of whack! We reorganized our list and it has been such a blessing ever since. :) God is good and He WILL give you the desires of your heart! I thank God for our friends daily! LOVE Y'ALL!!!!
Phil & Anna; Missy & Doug



David and Phil; April and Philip

Missy and Anna; April and Anna

Beginning my 24th Year of Life

I have to be honest I was not really looking forward to my birthday this year. I just knew since we had moved and all the craziness of this past year people just might not remember it was my birthday or how to find me to send a birthday card.... I also knew since we are trying to get debt free that I didn't want David to spend money on getting me something I don't really need. I had prepared myself for just a "blah" but "good" type birthday....

**OK PITTY PARTY OVER!!!**

My birthday was ANYTHING but the above thoughts! I had several cards come in the mail! People do know our address and remembered me!! As well as a number of birthday wishes on Facebook, and via text messages or phone calls, etc. How cool!! That was enough to make me feel super special. But there is more....

David woke me up at 4:30am for my Wednesday morning work out. Yes, you read that right! I am determined to get fit and look good in my sister's wedding. By the time I got back from my workout David was up and making me breakfast. :) The best part is that David always makes me breakfast!!!! Hello - KEEPER. After breakfast, I was off to work. So regular day at the office, a couple morning meetings, etc. and then off to lunch... SUSHI! DJ (my immediate boss) and a co-worker Avril went with me. We are the only ones in the office that like sushi! Perfect lunch date. After lunch we had our weekly Staff Women Bible study. It is just a brief 30 min every Wednesday encourager. It is always a great time to grow but most importantly laugh! Work resumed as usual... then DJ came to my office and said "come follow me"..... and everyone was waiting in the Board Room to surprise me with a cake! How fun!!! Rev (my big boss) even had his Green Wig on! We had lots of laughs and walked around the Mission spreading our "Irish Cheer" to everyone. And people think working at a homeless shelter is sad and depressing - we have FUN people!! I can officially say I hardly worked at all - but I didn't feel bad because I really don't think anyone seriously "worked" on St Patty's Day!!! lol. It was a great day at work. Below are the pics from the party. :)

Rev and Me - no idea what we were laughing at.... but it was FUNNY! :-)

:) gotta sport that GREEN!

DJ and Me - LOVE HER. She is by far the best boss EVER! So thankful to have her in my life. I hope one day I can be half the God fearing woman she is. She is such an inspiration.

I have two "work spouses". This is Teresa and Me. :) She is an amazing work spouse! lol.

Ok.... so after work the festivities continued!!! Our dear friends Missy and Doug came over to celebrate the day with me. We cooked at home. David made baked chicken, veggies, mac and cheese and of course CAKE! Missy and Doug brought the cake. They are such amazing friends. We just met but it feels like we have known them forever. Another friend couple of ours stopped by - but only one half could come - Philip. :) If you have never met this man - I think one meeting is required per lifetime. He is hilarious. He is super jokester but really deep down he is a caring, lovable guy - that would do anything in the world for you... don't believe me - run out of gas on 20 and have him come pick you up take you home go get gas and get your car for you.... another story another blog - I'm just saying - he is great. His other half April is amazing too! She is a total doll but unfortunately she works nights and couldn't make it. :(

This was the gorgeous cake that Missy and Doug brought me!

Birthday Picture of Missy and Me. Love that cake! :)

When I was uploading all these pictures - I realized I didn't get any of David and Me!!! :( We are having company this weekend, so I will be sure to get some updated pictures of us! I love him so. We didn't hardly spend any money and this birthday was by far one of the best! We are so incredibly blessed to have such great friends that live near us. When we were moving over to Louisiana my Aunt Nancy asked, "Anna, aren't you worried you wont have a social life? What are you two going to without any friends?" God truly laughed at that! He is has provided us with some of the best friends we could have ever asked for! Plus, we still get to talk and be with our friends we have in Dallas every time we go home!

Ok, enough for now. Life is good and so far, the 24th year of my life is going awesome. I know that it is going to be the best year yet!

It's Already 1/2 Way through February!!!!

I was really hoping that after the holidays our life would slow down JUST a little..... well I think it has done just the opposite!!! To catch up just a little, David is almost through his second quarter of school!!!!! YA! Next quarter he is taking a full load, but I told him that the spring time ALWAYS goes by soo much faster because (I seriously believe) the weather is warmer and you just move faster through.... I know there is no logic in that, but it sounds good right?!?! I am applying to Louisiana State University in Shreveport to attend and complete graduate school there. I have finally found my passion and working in non-profits is it! LSUS has an ONLINE graduate program that is for non profit administration! Hello, so basically, I will be graduating with an MBA but specialized in non-profit type stuff!!! So like, instead of regular business or accounting classes, I will take them that specifically deals with non profit business, or accounting!I am SUPER pumped. I truly believe this is where God is calling me to be and have a career! I feel like for the first time I am actually going to get a degree that will be USEFUL when I graduate. :)
This year David and I made a couple of new year's resolutions - and I should have you know - I have never been a fan - BUT we have actually stuck with ALL of them!!! The first one was to begin taking Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University. If you have not ever heard of this program or what it is, I HIGHLY suggest it!!! It is not just for people that are broke or have ungodly amounts of debt - but it is more about how to be a good servant of our money. The idea is that the less debt you are tied up in to others, the more you can give to your church or others that are in need, as well as be able to have a more fulfilling life in that you are about to have FINANCIAL PEACE. We are in week 5 of 13 and LOVE IT!!!!! We are learning more and more useful tips every week. The class group is great that we are with and it is also so much fun getting to know others that have the same debt free goals as us!! We don't have very much debt but we are just trying to make the best decisions with the money we do have so we can stretch it as far as it will go! ;) We are living like no one else, so we can LiVe like no one else later. :)
Another resolution that we made was to stop eating out and to start cooking more at home. This has actually been SO MUCH FUN!! We are getting to spend more quality time together AND because of our savings of eating out - we now have CABLE AND INTERNET!!! :) I know, I know, but hey it is something for us! lol. But the best part is that I am down 10 pounds! I am trying my hardest to be THE hottest bridesmaid for my sisters wedding! Thank God it isn't until June, but I know by then I will be a hottie! :) I am also excited about being more active and healthy! I am my happiest when I am busy and active.
Last week was crazy.... WeAtHeR!!!! We had a "HUGE" snow for Louisiana and EVERYthing was closed. :) Including my work and David's work and school! We got an unexpected day off!! How fun is that?!?! Here are some pictures of what gorgeous scenery we woke up to.

David woke me up and this was the result.... :)

These are the trees on our property.... gorgeous!

This is the masterpiece of the place: the Magnolia Tree. She is breath taking!

Our little cottage all decked out for the winter :)

And lastly, Valentines day!! We woke up Sunday morning and David had this for breakfast! :) It is simple but believe me, it was well enjoyed! Heart shaped PINK Chocolate Chip Pancakes! Oh, how I love him!!!!