Fall Update!

I feel like someone has pressed fast forward on my life, and I wish I could just pause for a little bit. This fall has been so wonderful, and I wish I could hold onto it a little longer...Here are some fall highlights...

School started back, and oh.my.word. I LOVE my class. They aren't perfect. They are a loud vivacious bunch with plenty of personality, but most days they mind very well! Honestly, they are just a really fun group of kids, and they always make my day. Really wish I could share pictures of my kids or post some of the stories they tell, but probably not appropriate.. Anyhoo...here is an iphone pic of part of my class. I need to take some more pictures of the classroom...



Sadie loves to watch football with Mason, which is good since I never do...



I can't even pretend to care about the NFL but I do love to watch baseball!! We were so excited to get to go to one of the Rangers playoff games against the Yankees. Mason got to go to one of the world series games. lucky!




I turned 25 in October, and while I got many lovely gifts from Mason and the family, but this gift, given to me by a little boy in my class took the cake...



Madeline, Jayne and I got to meet Ina Garten when she came to Northpark. She is our favorite!!! We got copies of her new cookbook which is WONDERFUL! Madeline, Meredith and I have already cooked several recipes out of her newest book. We now have all of her cookbooks and used several of her recipes for Thanksgiving.



And yes, sometimes we wear chef coats when we cook together...



Maybe I will actually get our real camera out during the holiday season, so I can get some non iphone photos up here! Until then, I hope all of you are having a blessed holiday season!

Europe Trip!

Here are a few highlights of our trip!

Paris

The Louvre

Bike riding around the Louvre! One of my favorite parts of the whole trip!

River boat down the Seine River, this gave us gorgeous views of the city and the Eiffel Tower!

Versailles

Cute picture of the Orr siblings, minus Bryce at the Arc.

Switzerland

Gorgeous Alps!

The Alpine Slide!! Not the safest contraption, but really fun!

Proof that Jayne and I also did the Alpine Slide!

Florence

Lunch in Tuscany.

London

Big Ben

Westminster Abby

Taken from the London Tower...

The Last Few Days...

The last few days we've been here....

and here...

and here,


And too many other places to name! I don't have any of our pictures uploaded to my computer yet, but these are better photographs anyhow! While all the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, and Notre Dame are high points, of course, my top favorite places are Musee D'orsay (because of the Monets and Renoirs) and Saint-Chappelle! But my favorite part was the night time bike tour from the "Fat Tire Bike Tour" Company- I think it's a must-do! We even got to ride our bikes all through the outside portsions of the Louvre! Amazing!!!

How lucky are we?

This lovely couple is living with us this summer, and it has been WONDERFUL! It's like college all over again! I didn't think I'd ever have a female roomate again, but I am so glad that I get to! Jesse and Jenny, thanks for making our summer a little more fun!

Isn't this picture beautiful?

Charlie's Cone

We noticed a deep cut on Charlie's leg on Tuesday night. It was weird because it was not bleeding, anyhow, we took him to the vet. He needed stitches on his leg, so now he has to wear the cone for two weeks! Poor thing...

Happy Birthday!

Someone had a birthday yesterday! I cannot express how incredibly thankful I am that this person was born!

⁷ "But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
whose confidence is in him.

⁸ He will be like a tree planted by the water
that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
and never fails to bear fruit."

Jeremiah 17:7-8

Happy Birthday, Mason! I love you!

Panda-monium Pink

I LOVE this color because it makes your skin look tan.

I've gotten so paranoid about sun lately, that I wear SPF 35 on my face everyday, and use SPF 50 for swimming. No more laying out just to get sun. This might be my palest summer ever...So, I really love that this color makes my hands and feet look a little bit more tan...Give it a try!

Great things...

1. SUMMER!

2. My family came in town for the weekend and we had a wonderful time hanging out!

3. We enjoyed a fun Memorial Day at the Huston's lake house! I love catching up with JuliAnne!

4. I found out Melanie will be coming home for a little bit in August, and I can't wait to see her!

5. Okay, I am really on a Barefoot Contessa kick right now, but I made these Cheddar scones of her's the other night! I changed a couple things: I used milk instead of cream and I used a few tablespoons of fresh rosemary instead of the cup of fresh dill. I'm sure any herb would be great! Oh, and I put in a tsp. of garlic salt! Oh my they were great!! Here's the recipe:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/cheddar-dill-scones-recipe/index.html

6. The crossword puzzle application on the ipad! New addiction!

7. This verse is a "great thing" because it has been on my mind so much lately, and I love it!

4Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

- Philippians 4:4-7


I hope all of you are having a great day!

When life gives you lemons...

I LOVE lemons! When spring and summer come around, I really really love using lemons in my cooking, because it tastes so fresh! Here are a few favorite lemon recipes:

Lemon Parmesan Dressing

1/2 c. olive oil
1/3 c. fresh lemon juice
1/3 c. grated parmesan cheese
1 tsp. of lemon zest
1 tsp. sugar

Whisk it all together!! This is one of my favorite salad dressings ever, and it is so easy! It's wonderful over arugula or romaine lettuce.


I also like taking this exact same dressing recipe and adding fresh basil to it. Then, pour it over pasta, and it's great hot or cold!



One of our other favorite dinners is Barefoot Contessa's chicken piccata, from this book.


I love this cookbook, and I would highly recommend any of her books! But, you can find the chicken piccata recipe here.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/chicken-piccata-recipe/index.html


The other day, my sweet friend Lindy made Barefoot Contessa's lemon curd tart and it was AMAZING! You can find that recipe here.


http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/lemon-curd-tart-recipe/index.html



Of course, my favorite thing to do with lemons is to make...

LEMONADE!

The Last Few Months...

Just thought I would post a few favorite pictures from the past several months!

July

Went to see Beyonce concert with Benay!

Went to Disneyworld with Mason- about to go to dinner at the Contemporary.


Met lots of characters...


Loved Animal Kingdom- the Everest ride was my favorite!

August

I have no pictures of August, but I started taking grad school classes here...



September

Hired to teach third graders here...LOVE IT!

October

Went to the U2 concert!

Went to see John Legend for my birthday present from Mason!!



Sadly, I have no pictures of ACU homecoming, which was great as always!!


November

Nearly had a breakdown in November from first year teaching-grad school combo! Had a great Thanksgiving in Abilene with my parents!


December

Enjoyed seeing ICE at the Gaylord


Celebrated our one year anniversary! Also, experienced the passing of Mason's precious grandfather. Writing about his impact on us is a post of it's own!





January

Well, we didn't actually get our new dog, Sadie, until February, but it snowed in January! It was such a cold winter!



February

Went to the NBA All-Stars game!

Loved going to Abilene for Sing Song!

Sadly, I haven't taken any pictures past Sing Song, except for pictures of my kids at school. Unfortunately, I can't post any of those! Anyhow, it's been a wonderful year! It hasn't always been easy, but we've had some wonderful times. We are so blessed with great friends, family and memories!

Trying Trying Trying

I want to be a person who blogs, I really do. I am going to give it my best shot! I'm also going to try to find my missing camera cord so that I can upload some more pictures to share! For now, I will leave you with this update:

U- UPBEAT: Feeling great about marriage, church, and friends!
P- PROFESSION: I teach third graders!
D- DOGS: We now have two! Charlie, and our new girl, Sadie!
A- ALLY & MELANIE: Two of my greatest friends moved to Japan, miss them!
T- TOWN: Moving from Abilene has been a tough adjustment at times, but I'm loving it more!
E- EDUCATION: working on my master's at Dallas Baptist.
S- SNOW: We loved our recent snow day, and so did our puppies!