I Do...1 Year Later

It is hard to believe that it has been a whole year since I walked down the aisle and said "I Do". Brian and I celebrated our anniversary by staying at The Joule Hotel downtown. I had done my research and thought that The Joule looked awesome. 

We checked in at 3 and headed up to the pool to check it out. I don't think I have seen so many people in such a small place...ever. It was like Spring Break Cancun! Needless to say, we skipped the pool and decided to walk to the Dallas Farmers Market. It was both of our first times and we loved it. On the way to the DFM we stumbled upon the Main Street Garden. Who knew Dallas had a place like this downtown?!

We had dinner reservations at our hotel's restaurant The Charlie Palmer. It was amazing! We both got the filet and were given complimentary cookies and dessert sampler for our anniversary. 

Champagne was also given to us by the hotel staff. The Joule hooked us up! We checked out around 10 so we could make it to the 11 o'clock service at The Village. When we got to the garage, we noticed the sign that said the elevators were broken. This is Brian carrying our stuff up 4 flights of stairs. It felt like a sauna in there! The best part about it was that we only paid $2 for parking instead of the $27 the hotel charges to valet. 

It is crazy to think that we have been married for a whole year. We truly have been blessed to have had a great first year. During the first year we have made so many memories. We celebrated the birth of  Tanner (Kali and Lance's first baby), Jackson's 1st birthday (Adrian and Scott's first baby), took a trip to L.A. and San Diego, got rid of Brian's explorer, celebrated Grant's college graduation, ran a 10K, and competed in the Warrior Dash. These are just a few of my favorite memories. I have truly been blessed to have such an amazing husband. (I will save all the mushy stuff about Brian for his birthday at the end of August). We are so thankful to our parents for giving us such a good picture of what marriage should look like. They continue to be some of our most important role models.  Looking forward to the next year of marriage.

7/26/09

Sad to see them go...

The month of July is normally a happy month for me. I get to celebrate my anniversary with Brian and it is summer break...no work! However, this year two of my best friends are moving away. Noelle married JT and will be moving to Houston while he finishes law school. Leslie is moving to New York state while Justin gets his MBA. Last night we had a going away party for Leslie and Justin that was so fun. It is so sad to think that by the time August rolls around they will both be gone. I thought I would blog about some of my favorite memories with each of them. 

Here we are at a casino we stopped at on our way to Destin (where it all began) :).

John Mayer Concert

Cruisin to Cozumel

Vegas Baby!

Tami's wedding

Leslie's wedding

My wedding

Noelle's wedding

Looking through all of my pictures brings back a lot of fun memories with these girls. I am sad to see them go but am excited about the new adventures in each of their lives. It better not take one of us having a baby to be together again! :) Leslie, I can't wait till you guys come back in a few years. Noelle, tell JT to find a job in Dallas when he finishes! I love you girls and can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for you.

Greetings from the Smoky Mountains

This past weekend a good friend of mine (Noelle) got married in Bryson City, North Carolina. I had never been to North Carolina or the Smoky Mountains and I have to say it is beautiful! Leslie, Heather, and I flew into Atlanta and drove up to Bryson City. The drive took about 3 hours but it didn't feel that long because we were surrounded by incredible scenery.

We got to the Hemlock Inn and unloaded the car just in time to head to the rehearsal dinner. Here are a few pictures of the view from the Inn.

The next morning we had some hours to kill so we decided to go on a little hike through the woods. I should have known to bring bug spray or at least wear long pants because when I got back to Dallas on Sunday I had 5 huge chigger bites all over my legs. They itch SO bad!!! 

The wedding was outside with the incredible view behind everyone. Noelle and her mom did a great job adding fun details to make the wedding even more special. 

JT surprised Noelle with a honeymoon to Portugal. Incredible! I can't wait to see pictures. Noelle and JT will be living in Houston so that he can finish out law school. I am sad to have another friend move away but look forward to our reunions in Belton :). 

Congrats to Mr. and Mrs. JT Carpenter!

Brian's Turn to Post

Taylor is out of town at a wedding this weekend so I found a way to break on to this site! I wanted to take a second to tell everyone how absolutely blessed I am to have Taylor as my wife. The moment I met Taylor two years ago in Africa, I was struck by how fun she is to spend time with, how easy it was to talk with her, and how deeply her love for Jesus Christ runs. Taylor has a contagious joy and is always up for an adventure. She is so much fun to live with and we have a blast even just doing daily routines. She challenges me with her perspective on the Lord. She is so faithful to get in the word every day and feed herself with truth. She is also incredibly gracious with me. Even when I am harsh, she remains respectful to me. She is everything the Bible describes as a Godly wife. She is always anxious to serve our church and to love on other people. I have the privilege of working with Taylor in the 3 year old class at church and I can already tell how good of a mom she will be. She is not perfect, but very quick to admit she is wrong. I have such high hopes for how the Lord will use our marriage and I honestly can’t imagine someone more perfect to go through life with than Taylor Pattillo!

An excellent wife who can find?
 She is far more precious than jewels. Strength and dignity are her clothing, 
and she laughs at the time to come.
 She opens her mouth with wisdom, 
and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
 
“Many women have done excellently,
 but you surpass them all.”
Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, 
but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

I love you so much babe,

--Brian