"Love your hair- Hope you win."

Sooooo....

WHO'S GOING TO WATCH MISS AMERICA THIS SATURDAY!?! Huh? Huh???

I can not WAIT to watch one of my dear friends, pledge sister, and pageant sister, Alyse Eady, compete for the crown this Saturday as Miss Arkansas! 

Woo hoo!! If you want to keep up with her this week, be sure to check out her blog here! 

Dont forget to tune in or set your DVR to ABC January 15th at 8PM to cheer Alyse on!

For one of my besties I designed a "Miss America Watch Party"invite because, like her, and all the girls coming to the party- You need to be watching the competition as well! :) 

So im getting married on....

Get pumped. 

"I can hear the bells...."

Well for those of you who don’t know…IM ENGAGED!

I have had many requests to blog about how Tyler proposed to me so here I go…I’m finally going to tell my fairy tale story J

I feel like I need to start from the very very beginning of our story because not every fairy tale starts at the proposal….

Tyler and me have always just “been friends”…best friends actually. I always knew that it wasn’t normal for a girl to have a “best guy friend” but me and Tyler’s friendship was a rare thing. The first summer we met- my best friend Carly and I spent everyday in the little town of Prosper hanging out with Ty and his friends. When I went off to college that August I really expected our friendship to fade, but without fail, every holiday or break-I found myself back in Prosper.

People would always comment on our friendship and ask me why we had never dated. I would always seem to say “He’s my best friend…. that’s weird.” Truth be told…I was usually the one trying to set him up with all my friends! I was just THAT good of a friend ;)

It wasn’t until a couple years later did I start looking at Tyler differently. Sure, I had always thought he was super attractive and fun but I had never thought about what it be like to actually date him. For a long time I kept these feelings to myself, not wanting to ruin the friendship we had built. Over time- Tyler and I started hanging out more just one-on-one and things just naturally went from best friend to actual boyfriend.  

We had our first “date” on New Years Eve where he cooked me a fabulous dinner at his house. That was the first time I remember thinking to myself “Holy cow…I’m dating my best friend…”

Ironically….364 days later….I found myself in a  little chapel in Mckinney thinking a very similar thought only this time saying….“Holy cow…I’m ENGAGED to my best friend!”

Tyler wanted to take me out for our one year and so his mom had suggested us going to this place in McKinney called Rick’s Chophouse. We decided that we wanted to celebrate the day before New Years so we could spend time with friends the next night. After getting all dolled up, Tyler came to my house and greeted me with red roses and off we went! While figuring out what we wanted to eat something funny happened.... this random man walked up to us and congratulated us on our engagement! I looked at Tyler confused and immediately he says “Oh no we’re not engaged, but we are celebrating our one year!” The man looked at us so confused, apologized and then walked off. Me, being the person who loves to analyze everything, started to ask Tyler why he said that. “Do you think he thought my purity ring was an engagement ring?!...I should probably take it off” “Do you think he meant that for somebody else here??” “Do you see any other young couples eating around us??

Tyler didn’t seem to be phased by the man’s hiccup so I finally dropped the subject. After we got done eating our waitress walked up to our table and asked us if we wanted any dessert. “Oh no…”, I replied, “ I am beyond full!” “Are you sure?,” she replied, “Its complimentary with the engagement!” I laughed and said, “Oh no, I think y’all have us confused with somebody else here…I’m sorry!” She as well, looked so confused but eventually walked off.

When leaving we walked outside and immediately saw a white carriage with two white horses by the restaurants’ sidewalk. Tyler looked at me and said, “Hey want to go on a carriage ride??” I quickly responded with “Uhhh no no…. Let’s just get home and get some ice cream or something!” Tyler then said “No lets do this…it’ll be fun!” I kept saying no until the women on the carriage finally said, “Are you Tyler?” At that moment I realized that he had planned this little adventure.

So Tyler and me hopped on the carriage and proceed to take a 30-minute ride through the historical district of Mckinney! The whole time the woman leading our ride was telling us about all the history of the old homes and when they were all established. She then pointed out this tiny little chapel up ahead and told us it was one of the first chapels built in the town of Mckinney. She stops her horses right in front of it and that’s when Tyler asked, “Do you think we could go in it? Is it unlocked?!” At this point, I didn’t think anything of Tyler asking that. He is always up for some kind of adventure so him wanting to sneak into a 100 year old chapel wasn’t a surprise to me. The women told us that it might be open so with that- Tyler and me started climbing out of the carriage and making our way up the stairs.

Tyler opened up the door and this is what I saw….

We walked up to the table and chairs and Tyler started playing and singing the Keith Urban song “ Only You Can Love Me This Way” while I looked through a scrapbook that he has made for me. When the song was over I looked up and Tyler was on one knee with a ring in his hand. 

He said some sweet words that I honestly cant remember…and then after a lot of hugging and kissing and whipping of tears he said, “If anybody is in here, they can come out now!” And with that- his family and my family all came out of the back of the chapel! It was so perfect.

       {the perfect ring Tyler designed for me!!} 

After taking some pictures and receiving a lot more hugs, we made our way back to the Toney’s for dessert. The second I got in the car, I started calling all my best friends to tell them about what had just happened. They of course, were freaking out and saying how “they wished they were there” Deep down, I was kinda wishing the same thing. After walking into Tyler’s house we were greeted with so many wonderful friends and family! I was so excited to show off my ring and tell the story that I didn’t even notice my best friends walking down the stairs right behind me! I turned around to see them all singing our E blowout song while holding a single red candle. So right in the middle of Tyler’s house…I had my very own blowout! J I was in heaven.

So there you go. The entire story. It’s a long one but it’s also a perfect one. I’m going to be marrying my best friend and It doesn’t get much better then that J

We are looking at getting married at the end of October. So let the planning BEGIN! 

Love is alive.

[[This morning I woke up with a heavy heart for so many people I know who are going through a tough time this Christmas holiday...]]

I guess living in the OBU “bubble” for so long had numbed me to the fact that there are people out there who truly ache during the holiday months. 

While I was at OBU, I was so focused on what I had to do to make it to Christmas break in one piece.  I was focused on studying for that one final for that one class that I absolutely loathed. I was focused on making my own Christmas list filled with the latest and greatest. I was focused on figuring out how I was going to fit ALL my stuff in my tiny little Honda. I was focused on getting home to my home so I could sleep in my warm bed. 

I was focused 100% on myself.  

Going into my first Christmas outside of the “bubble” has been an eye opener. So many people are hurting during these weeks coming up to Christmas and I can’t help but be affected by it and realize that not everything is about ME. 

Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Jesus is the ultimate comforter.

He gives peace to the weary. He meets you exactly where you are in life.  

He is the ultimate definition and symbol of LOVE.

Sara Bareilles has a song that came out last Christmas called “Winter Song”. In the chorus she sings the line “Is love alive?” over and over again. 

I have come into contact with so many people who feel that love isn’t alive this Christmas. They feel like just because the calendar says it’s December and the radio songs sing words about being “filled with glee”, and how its “the most wonderful time of the year”…their heart ultimately tells them differently.  

Sometimes situations come our way and we forget that God is love. He loves us in a way that we cant even comprehend. He laid down his OWN life so that we, sinful man, could live in the presence of a Holy God and have our sins forgiven. Jesus gives us REDEMPTION. 

He took on ALL the burdens of this world…every last one of them.

So if your feeling like love isn’t alive this Christmas just remember that whatever situation your going through- God gets it. He understands. He wants to be your comforter and the one stable thing in your life that wont fail you.

So to answer Sara Bareilles question….Yes. Love is very much alive.....

His name is Jesus Christ. 

This will make you laugh. No doubt.

Busy Bee.

Man oh man what a crazy couple of days it has been! Let me just give you a brief re-cap:

Woke up Thursday morning and realized that my poor Holly Honda had been broken into by some Grinch wannabe. They bashed out my passenger door window and decided that my GPS looked like a perfect object to steal and take for themselves. Now- I’m not saying that I wasn’t stupid for leaving my GPS out in the open for the taking but STILL….Go out and buy your own dang GPS. Here is a picture of the window damage....

After calling the cops, my dad and I learned that Holly wasn’t THAT special and I wasn’t the only car broken into that night. Apparently they had hit about 7 different neighborhoods and even broke into somebody’s car just for a pack a cigarettes and 45 cents. I forget how lost our world is until an incident like this happens. Thankfully, we were told the next day that my GPS had been recovered and the case was going to court. Plano Police saved the day!

Friday morning finally rolled around and my family and I went to Ryan’s Southwestern Seminary graduation ceremony. My family is very proud of Ryan and all of his accomplishments he has made in the past 3 years. He has worked so hard and definitely earned that degree! I have a lot of respect for people who continue with school after college because, Lord knows, I don’t have the drive to be back in a classroom! Sadly, technology seemed to hate me that morning because my big camera died AND my Flip camera wasn't working so I had to resort to Iphone pictures and video to capture the moment! All the professors wear Cowboy hats with their robes. Kinda weird but its Texas so go figure. 

That night I met up with Megan, Amy and her sister Natalie for dinner at Legacy Town Center’s Mi Cocina! Amy and Natalie had come into town for some Christmas shopping/sister weekend and thankfully I got to spend some time with them! I’m still trying to convince them to move to Plano and I wont give up till I have succeeded. :)

Saturday was another early morning at Prestonwood North with our Northern Lights Christmas performance practice! Here is a picture of the children getting ready to sing “I Love Christmas!” They were all so cute and did a great job!
 That night I went with Ryan and some of his family to Prestonwood South’s “The Gift of Christmas” performance. It was SO amazing. Between the fireworks going off the sanctuary and the flying angels (which is my dream to be one day :D)…I was in awe of it all! I was so impressed with everything and it was such a blessing to watch!  It made me miss the good ol’ days of being apart of the Dallas Christmas Festival performances and all the late nights that came with it!

Sunday was busy with two services packed full of Christmas music and much needed lunch at Blue Goose with fun friends that always make me laugh! I made the mistake of wearing some high heels that literally made the bottom of my feet feel like they were being hit with a hammer over and over again. Its clearly been awhile since my pageant days. 

So now its finally Monday morning and the week has officially BEGUN! I wonder what fun things will happen to me THIS week!?!


Here is a random picture of my long lost kitty Bella. She is the cutest. :) Thank you Megan for sending me weekly pictures of her! Meow. 

Decaffeinated coffee is the devil's blend.

For some reason it has been one of those weeks were I can’t seem to wake up no matter how many cups of coffee I have. 

I wake up in the mornings not feeling like P- Diddy but rather like somebody who has had a truck run over them numerous times. On my way to work I pass about 4 Starbucks that taunt me with their green and white round logo. Usually by the time I pass the 4^th one- I give in to the temptation and stop to enjoy a delicious Carmel Brulee Latte and if I’m really in a good mood- maybe a cinnamon coffee cake.

Is it just me or does holding a warm Starbucks coffee cup in your hand make you feel like you can conquer any situation that gets thrown your direction?

I blame this subconscious notion of coffee on Hollywood. In movies and TV shows they make coffee seem like a necessity and a way to survive the harsh world we live in. They make it seem like as long as you have a coffee cup in your hand- nothing can touch you. For example- in the show Gilmore Girls- the character, Lorelei, has a coffee addiction and makes it seem trendy and cool to down about 5 cups a day. If that were reality and she really did down 5 cups a day- her teeth would have then been brown and nasty and, sadly for her, she wouldn’t be so trendy anymore. On NCIS, Special Agent Gibbs drinks the stuff all day long- and somehow solves a murder mystery about a Navy Seal in 30 minutes. We also see celebrities’ like Britney Spears downing the drug in every magazine we pick up and somehow she lands her own dedicated episode on Glee after dropping her kid and shaving her head?

So whether you blame it on the genius branding strategies of Starbucks, or just blame it on Hollywood- one thing is for sure- coffee, like rain, is a good thing and will always be around to make your day that much better.

Treat yourself to a warm cup today. You deserve it.

Keep it Classy World Conquerors. 

photo credits here, here and here.