Our Life in the Yellow Brick House

Believe it or not, I’ve started working on my next blog book. I do one each year around the anniversary of our move-in date, which is the whole reason for this blog. I can’t believe we’re here already. Here are some pictures of the house from the year we moved in vs. this year. With the crazy weather, our garden might not look like much this year, but our lawn on the other hand is much improved from last year thanks to the TIRELESS efforts of my husband. I’m pretty lucky to have him.  2010 2013 For this post, I thought it might be fun to walk down memory lane and tell you about how we ended up in the yellow brick house. We purchased it in 2010, and like some of our other big purchases, we didn’t think about it for very long. It’s weird, I know. I contemplate dining room chair fabric for months, but Kyle mentions buying a house and a week later we’re looking at properties. That’s partly because the reason why Kyle wanted to buy a house was the $8,000 new home buyer’s credi

I just got back from San Francisco and it was a great time! I can't wait to tell you all about it, but first, I wanted to catch up on Mother's Day. We spent the day in Ponca with Kyle's family. It was so good to see everyone, minus a few that couldn't make it. Kyle and I got all dressed up for church so he could surprise his Mom, who thought we were coming later in the day. She was surprised alright because they weren't going to church that day. Instead, we changed clothes and headed out to Kyle's grandparents' house to celebrate. It's been so long since we've been to Ponca, and it was nice to be back. Kyle and I have great families and our moms have a lot to do with that. They have taught us so much about life and unconditional love. We are truly blessed by them on a daily basis. Here are some pictures from the celebration.  Doesn't my husband look sharp!   Playing in the drainage ditch behind the house just like the old days. 

I have lived in Oklahoma my whole life, which is by no means abnormal here. It’s not a sexy place to live, so most people who live here are here for the heart. They love Oklahoma because it’s where their loved ones live, where they’re living out their passion or where they’re finding their path in life. It’s a special place for this reason. My heart breaks today as I think about everyone who lost loved ones and homes in the storms. I cannot fathom what that must be like. Living here has made me somewhat numb to tornados. I go about my everyday life and don’t worry too much until I hear the sirens sounding. Twenty-seven years and a few close calls, but my family and I have been extremely fortunate. As I grow older, it’s harder and harder to understand why things happen the way they do. Why would one area suffer so much loss on multiple occasions? There’s no explaining it, but I’m a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. God has a purpose, and we all pray that He brings

Kyle called me at work last Monday to tell me that I needed to cancel any plans we had for Tuesday night because he was going to the Thunder playoff game. I was excited for him and asked who invited him to go. He then said that he got tickets from one of his friends through work and was taking Greg. I’m not going to lie, I felt a little lot slighted for not being his first choice, but I guess that’s what I get for not being a very big sports fan. But then Kyle broke the news that Stacie and Henry were coming, too, which meant I had a cute little nephew to take my mind off of it! Kyle was so excited for them to come. He’s really been missing his nephews and while we were planning to see Conner soon, we weren’t sure when we’d see Henry again. Kyle came home that night with two big balloons and he giggled as he hid them in the closet for Henry to find. Before they left for the game they had all kinds of fun! It was an 8:30 p.m. game and unfortunately, OKC lost. It was a long ride home

I have been looking forward to the first weekend in May for a long time, and I was so glad when it finally got here. Last weekend was a big one for us, and a LONG one for me! I took Friday off to shop with Mom and Stacy. We went to the Outlet Mall in OKC and found some really good deals. (Maybe a few too many good deals, but I’m worth it…right?) On Saturday, Kyle also took off work a little early so he could be there to meet Ethan and Elijah for the very first time. My cousins, who live out of the country, adopted two boys several months ago. We’ve gotten pictures and updates, but this was the first chance the family had to meet them in person. It just so happened to be around their first birthdays as well! Ethan and Elijah are only about a week apart and shared a bed at the orphanage before finding their forever family. It was so good to see them and to get to spend some time with Jamey and Matt. We are so excited to have them home for a little while!  While we waited for the b

You might think you have the best coworkers, but I'm pretty sure my people are better than yours. Since joining the Foundation, I've worked in three different departments. Each has its pros and cons but what I've loved most about ALL of them is the people I get to work with. Just when I think it can't get any better, I move to a different area and find a new bunch of talented, fun, hilarious, kind-hearted coworkers. The three girls helping us out this year as student workers were no exception. To show them how much we apprecate all they do, we decided to "shower" them with gifts/praise during the last month of the semester. Yeah, you're right, it's pretty much a love fest over in Compliance and Stewardship! Each week one of us would get them a little gift and write them a thank you note. We ended the month with a group lunch and lots of laughs. I wasn't sure what to get them for my gift, but when I saw these cute ice bags at T.J. Maxx, I just c

We do highs and lows at department meetings, and my high last week was that we were having friends over this past Saturday for a game night. It's been far too long since we all got together, and we had such a great time! The theme for the evening was "Bring your A Game," so we munched on Asian zing wings, stuffed anaheim peppers, apple crisp and more. Even the brand of wine started with an "a." We played Apples to Apples, of course, but for most of the night, we watched the Thunder playoff game. At halftime we were way ahead so we decided to cook some s'mores by the fire. It was the perfect evening for it! However, the game took a turn for the worse, so we headed back in to cheer the Thunder to victory.  We tried the flat marshmallows made for s'mores, and I'm a big fan. It was a lot easier to cook them through and there was more surface area to turn yummy, golden brown.  One of my coworker's highs was that Sunday was exotic animal r