See Ya, September...

Where did September go? It's hard to believe tomorrow is October 1st. I've started and restarted this blog about seven times, but when you go 18 days without blogging, it's hard to decide where to begin. I'll try my best to sum it up!

Almost three weeks ago, Mom and I went to the Austin Bridal Extravaganza to scope out the last of our wedding vendors. We're feeling great about the progress of wedding plans (I'll save that for another blog post!) and we have many things crossed off our list. Before leaving the event, we snapped a photo in one of the cute vintage cars we're looking at for our getaway. You'll just have to imagine what the rest of it looks like...

During one of my weekend trips to Waco, a bunch of us got together to see The Lion King: 3D. The theater was packed with college kids and 20somethings wanting to relive one of the greatest movies of the 90s. The energy was electric (I'm not kidding), everyone quoted their favorite lines (some followed by sic 'ems), and we sang every word to every song. Who says you have to grow up?

Me and Kelsey - SO excited to see it on opening night!

Ready to go with our snazzy 3D glasses.

Last week I celebrated my 23rd birthday! When I was in high school or college and people asked each year "do you feel any older," I'd usually say no. Sure, there are milestones at 16, 18, and 21, but nothing quite prepared me for what my first birthday post-college would be like. As silly as it sounds, I felt so odd not being at school, surrounded by friends. It was a day like any other in the working world - I had to get up before the sun to shower and drive downtown, and I ended up working until after 6:30. When I got home, Mom and Dad were hosting their weekly Bible study, so after dinner and cake, I spent the rest of the evening in my room, relaxing in front of the TV because I was so exhausted. But I'm thankful that even though we may be in separate cities or too busy to get together because of crazy schedules, my friends and family went out of their way to make my birthday really special.

My sister Sarah had 3 dozen cookies from Tiff's Treats delivered to my office. Everyone in the marketing team was a huge fan of hers that day!

The team took me out for lunch at Home Slice Pizza on South Congress. We were celebrating two birthdays that week, which meant two times the complimentary desserts.

While I had to work late on my actual birthday, I was very fortunate to take that Friday off. I slept in (past 8 a.m., wooo!) and went to the gym with Mom. After getting pedicures, we met up with Dad for lunch at Mighty Fine Burgers, and then went to IKEA to pick up one of my birthday gifts - a reading chair for my bedroom (photos to come). Later that afternoon, I jumped on I35 to go celebrate my birthday in Waco! My birthday weekend entailed a much-needed dinner date with Thomas, quality time with Alex and Brynn & Neil who came to town, and another epic Baylor win.

Roommates under the same roof again, if only for a day.

Tailgating before the game!

We even got to meet Baby Kade! The next day, I got to hang out with Jenni to take newborn photos of this little guy.

This week has been extraordinarily long with a quick business trip to Houston on Tuesday to work an event, quickly followed by two proposal deadlines. I've also been flying solo for the past several days... Mom & Dad are blissfully sailing through the Caribbean, leaving their jealous daughter to fend for herself. They'll be home Sunday, but until then I'm going to enjoy a weekend to myself. Happy Friday!

We Never Walk Alone

Ten years ago today, I was in 7th grade. It was a beautiful Tuesday morning, and I bounded down the stairs to say goodbye to my mom before walking to school. Mom was usually bustling about the kitchen in the mornings, packing our lunches and making us breakfast, but on that day I found her standing open-mouthed in front of the TV.

"What's going on?" I asked her, turning to see a burning building on the screen. It took her quite some time to answer, caught off guard by my presence in the room, uncertain how to respond.

"I'm not sure sweetie, but it's okay. Have a good day at school. I love you!"

Her answer was not at at all reassuring. I knew something wasn't right, so I lingered for a little longer. I soon realized she had placed the phone in front of the screen with my dad on the line so he could hear. Whatever had occurred, it was big enough news that my dad called from work, desperate for any information the news had to offer.

I walked to school and by the time I got to the cafeteria, every television was tuned to the news. Teachers looked terrified. Students were confused. Before I knew it, the TVs were turned off and we were shuffled to class. At that point in time, I thought it was just a terrible accident. I didn't know what the World Trade Center was. I had no clue that a second plane had hit, that a plane crashed into the Pentagon, or that another hijacked plane went down in Pennsylvania. It wasn't until Mom and Dad sat us down before dinner that I started to understand the gravity of what happened. To the best of their abilities, they held us and tried to explain what took place that day and what it meant to our country.

Today on the tenth anniversary of September 11th, I feel sad, angry, hopeful and grateful. Sad for the innocent lives lost and the pain we feel still today. Angry at the men who caused such tragedy. Hopeful for our nation's future as we stand together united. Grateful for the men and women who fight for our freedom, and for God's peace and comfort in the face of such horror.

This morning at Hill Country, we gathered as a congregation to reflect on who our God is when tragedy strikes. And September 11th wasn't the only tragedy we paused to remember. With last week's wildfires in Austin, many in our church family have lost their homes. Pastor Tim used the sermon to point us back to the God of comfort by reading Psalm 23. Yes, we will face hardship and unspeakable pain in this world. But God promises that we'll never EVER walk alone.

And there wasn't a dry eye in the sanctuary as this video was shown...

We live in a world full of great sadness, but we serve a God who is quick to comfort and restore. I don't know about you, but I'm sure thankful for that.

"In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33

Tale of Weekends Past

When did September sneak up on us? Last thing I remember, it was 108 degrees and my family was flocking to Lake Travis to escape the early August heat. Now, we're more than a week into my birthday month, football season is underway, and Texas is being teased with slightly cooler weather. Here's a recap of the past several weekends!

With the extreme summer drought, local lakes have been at all-time lows. Our boat is docked at a friend's lake house, and the water is so low that the tram we take down to the dock has reached the end of its track. Sometimes getting down is more trouble than it's worth since it's hard to climb down the rocky banks with ice chests and food. But when my uncle came to town one weekend, we decided to grab Fuzzy's tacos and go out to swim and watch the sunset. I'm hopeful that soon we'll get some major rain and the lake will fill back up!

View from above the dock. See the treeline across from us? That's where the water usually is.

The weekend after that, Thomas came to visit me! He had a break between summer finals and the fall semester starting, and I was able to take a day off of work to go play in Austin! Our weekend together included: tax-free shopping at the outlet malls, Freebirds burritos, the Glee: 3D movie, my favorite Greek restaurant (Zakia's), taking Thomas downtown to see my office, sushi and cupcakes, a BBQ with my extended family, church on Sunday, and brunch with my parents at the amazing Chez Zee. Three days flew by and before I knew it, Thomas had to return to Waco to for school. I absolutely cannot WAIT until he's here in Austin to stay!!

We climbed to the top of Mount Bonnell in the 105+ degree weather so I could show Thomas the beautiful view of downtown.

The last weekend of August, I traveled north to Waco. One of my best friends was in town before leaving for the Kanakuk Institude in Missouri, so we went to Ninfa's for dinner with some ADPi sisters. She and I also had breakfast together the next day, and on Saturday night I went to the Margarita and Salsa Festival with Thomas, Alex and some of their friends from grad school to see Eli Young Band and Gary Allan. It was a million degrees out and the margaritas were no bueno, but the music was awesome and we had a great time!

Kaitlyn's Farewell Dinner

Janie, me and Alex and Marg&Salsa Fest

I was back in Austin for only five days before I found myself back in the 254 for Labor Day. I just can't stay away. I love going to visit Waco for obvious reasons (both my fiancé Thomas and best friend/roommate Alex), but it also helps that I have season tickets for football. Our first game of the season took place on Friday night against the TCU Horned Frogs, and ohmygoodness, what an intense game it was. It was the largest opening game crowd since 1975 and the energy in the stadium was electric. Baylor had a huge lead until the 4th quarter when TCU came back with a vengeance. It was the most nerve-wracking game I've ever attended, but Baylor won the game, 50-48! Everyone rushed the field when the game was over, and the win earned Baylor a #20 ranking in the AP Top 25. Makes me so incredibly proud to be a Baylor bear!!

Right after Baylor scored a field goal to secure the win. Everyone was going nuts!

Saturday was Alex's birthday, and it was so wonderful to spend the day together. We got pedicures, did a little shopping, had dinner at Chuy's and went to see The Help (second time for me). It was just as good the second time around! I gave Alex a cupcake decorating kit for her birthday, so on Sunday night we put it to good use. Thomas, Alex and I cooked dinner, watched a movie, and channeled our inner baker to decorate cupcakes for dessert. Nights like that make me miss them even more, but make me even more grateful that I get to steal away from the real world to be with them.

This weekend I'm thankful for a few relaxing days at home with my mom and dad, and even more thankful that now I'm caught up on blogging. Here's to family, friends and making memories worthy of sharing on the blog. Happy Saturday!