It's the little things..............

Ok, so I know it is nothing fancy but I happen to be very proud of this little wreath which now inhabits the space on my front door. This is officially the first wreath I have ever made. If I do say so myself, I think it's pretty darn cute!

I honestly had no idea what I was doing when I started. The inspiration came during a trip to Hobby Lobby with my awesome hubby. The grapevine wreaths were on sale 50% off and of course that made it very hard for me to pass up.... Never mind that I really didn't know how to make a wreath. I actually left Hobby Lobby with just my wreath and not one single adornment. On the way home I decided to stop by Dollar Tree..... I like to stop in sometimes to see if I can find some unexpected treasures. I left Dollar Tree with the ribbon, silk flowers and leaves that you see on my wreath.

As soon as I was home I spread all of the materials out on my kitchen table and went to work. It proved to be a fairly simple process. When it was all said and done I had a cool little fall wreath for less than $10 and an overwhelming sense of accomplishment!

A Few of My Favorite Things.....

I thought I would take today's post to you a few little decorative elements that I have added or will be adding to our house!

These are the fabrics I am going to use to make throw pillows. The couch and love seat are slip covered in the chocolate brown fabric which serves as the background in this picture. Right now I am sure you are all wondering what in the world I am thinking by putting these fabrics together..... I promise when I get through it's gonna look great! Moving on.....

The square banana leaf basket currently "lives" in the middle of my coffee table. The jewels that are in it right now are temporary filler.

I LOVE this artisan glass bowl! I found it on clearance in a furniture store and had to have it. The picture does not really do it justice. Right now this bowl "lives" on a shelf in my living room.

I am also kind of proud of my green table lamp. I have it on an end table between my couch and love seat. I loved the shape and the color... Also love the fact that it is translucent so it does not dominate the room.

Now for a couple of personal touches..... I had two shadow boxes, one of which I decided was perfect to display our wedding invitation in and the other well... I had no idea what to put inside it. Back a few months ago when I got my Colorado license plates for the car, my husband had the idea to display my Alabama license plate inside it so that I would always have a little piece of Alabama around. At first I thought he was insane but the idea grew on me pretty quickly so now the Alabama license plate is displayed in my living room..... Not sure if it will stay in the living room permanently but for right now it's kind of comforting to me.

This is the collection that inhabits my entry way at the moment. Right now it is kind of a non-cohesive hodgepodge of things that I like for different reasons. It is a starting point but at the moment I definitely consider this area to be unfinished-- a work in progress.... as is the rest of my house!

Thanks for letting me share just a few of my favorite little things around the house. As I said before, my house is a work in progress and I would love to share my "decorating journey" with you all.

Long Overdue Thanks..........

My first wedding anniversary is coming up on December 5. Approaching this milestone has reminded me of all the people who worked so hard to make our wedding showers, rehearsal and wedding day a wonderful success. I have been inspired to use this post to recognize all of the people and groups of people who made things happen.

We had a total of 3 wedding showers ...... two bridal and one tool and gadget party for Rob.

My boss Sandra Bain Moon along with my good friends Misty Smith and Shelley Jones threw my Birmingham Bridal Tea.

Terre Heath, Julie Aragon and Madeline Belarde along with the ladies of Amazing Grace Fellowship in Pueblo West threw my Colorado Bridal Shower.

Danny Heath, Adam Aragon & Jim Belarde along with the men of AGF threw the tool and gadget party for Rob.

All of these parties were wonderful and we received so many nice gifts. We are truly blessed to have these people in our lives.

I also must thank all the girls of Bain and Associates for listening to me plan and belly ache about my moving situation.....

Thank you to my mom, dad and brother who put up with all of the wedding decorations and moving boxes that took over our house for so many months..... And also for listening to me during my freak out bridal moments.

Our rehearsal was .......... interesting..... LOL. The day of the rehearsal I was, as we now refer to it, "a woman on the edge." So many details were running though my mind! Shelley who was also my Matron of Honor worked very hard to keep me sane. My lovely family and fiance stepped back and gave me some breathing room..... We made it through the rehearsal relatively unscathed. My mom, dad & brother met Rob's dad and brother for the first time...... We had a wonderful time of fellowship over some Jim n Nicks BBQ...... YUM! I have to thank Patrick Smith also.... He was pulled out of bed at about midnight that night by his wife Misty to come and pull our car out of the mud patch it had become encased in.... LOL-- He was such a great sport. Misty also took pictures of our rehearsal and helped decorate.

Now for the big day.... Shelley did my hair and makeup.... and might I add, she did an awesome job. We all made it to the wedding site pretty much on time. My Uncle Allen catered the reception and worked hard to make sure the reception area was in order. Misty along with her friend Angie took pictures for us. My friend Krystle Hall brought in extra decor and also loaned to us her cake serving set and toasting flutes from her recent wedding. My Dad and our pastor Mark Apodaca performed the ceremony. My brother Cameron provided awesome music for the ceremony. My Mom and Dad both walked me down the isle. My boss Sandy along with Paige Ali videotaped both the ceremony and reception. Rob's brother Tony stood up with him as Best Man. My cousins Kyla Sylvester and Bobbi Crane served the wedding cake at the reception. My good friend Mary Waldrop also helped out with clean up. Of course I also have to include my wonderful husband Rob...... Thanks for actually showing up for the wedding after my near meltdown..... LOL.

In January after I got settled in to Colorado, our AGF family threw us a reception at the church. We had another beautiful cake, lots of food, lots and friends and lots more wonderful gifts!

So many people came together to help us make things happen and to help in my transition. I am so grateful to you all.... I hope I have not left anyone out! Rob and I love and appreciate you all.... We are overwhelmingly blessed to have you all in our lives.

THANK YOU!!!!

A Long Awaited Update...

It has been a long while since I last posted.... Life has been extraordinarily busy! My last post was 1 week before my wedding and so much has taken place since then.

Of course, the wedding and honeymoon are long since over... I made the move to Colorado in mid-december.

Ah married life... My transition into married life has not been the norm. All at once I have had to adjust to married life and a pastor's wife on top of that, a new area of the country and being away from my family and friends. I won't lie.... there have been some rough spots for me.... I have been homesick....

But there is also another side to things. I have met so many wonderful people, become part of a great church family, and been allowed to work with some of the most amazing teenagers that I have ever met. I have also experienced something that I nor most of my family and friends have experienced.... Life outside of the South. Oh yes, it is different here... More snow than I am used to, more wind than I am used to, much drier & higher altitude than I am used to, foods that I am not used to, animals that I am not used to, sayings and expressions that I am not used to. These are not bad things..... just different for me.


I have been making some progress in my adjustments lately......


1. I no longer cook crunchy rice.... let me explain..... When I first moved here I never thought about the altitude affecting the way I cook.... My first wake up call on that was the very crunchy rice I made my husband for dinner one night.... I have since learned that I have to add more water and cook it a little longer... so good bye to crunchy rice!

2. I no longer 'drink' lotion.... The first couple of months here were murder on my skin... I litterally felt like a dried out sponge.... I had to regularly lotion down my whole body. Living in the south I rarely had to use lotion because of the overly abundance of humidity. I am proud to say that I am using less lotion these days...

3. I have learned to better deal with the seperation from my family. When I first got here, 9 1/2 months ago, I felt so exposed and alone. I have prayed and cried a lot. Now I have made it to the point where I can embrace the challenges of being separated from my family...... I'm stronger than I thought I was. I still miss them like crazy every minute of every day but it is getting easier to deal with.


Things are great, I love my husband, I love my house, I love my friends, I love my church and of course I still love my family very much..... What more can I ask for?

And The Countdown Begins..........

Well here we are, exactly one week until my wedding. So many thoughts racing through my mind and emotions racing through heart. Wedding planning and moving has kept me so busy with not much time to blog or really do anything else for that matter.
Today I feel happy, excited, scared and sad all at once. I know that what I am about to do will be the most wonderful, scary thing I will ever do. This new chapter in my life is sure to be an exciting adventure, but I still can't help feeling sad that the current chapter is coming to an end.
God has put so many wonderful people in my life....... it's hard to realize that these constants in my life are about to change. During this part of my journey I have gone back and forth between the bubbly, excited, grown-up bride and the scared little girl inside me who is afraid to leave Mommy & Daddy.
I know that God has ordained everything that is happening in my life...... Don't get me wrong, I am so excited to marry and spend my life with my best friend..... I love him soooooo much...but still, it's these times in your life when you realize that maybe you weren't as grown up as you thought..... that "inner child" sneaks right up on you when you least expect it.
I'm just in that place where I have to make a choice..... and you know what? I choose to be excited, happy & brave......... I'm putting that "inner child" back where it belongs.
I'm looking forward to my wedding day... to the joy, laughter and excitement of this time and the years to come!

To my Roberson, if you are reading this........
I love you so much..... You are truly my best friend. I am honored that you chose me to be your wife and build a life with you. I can't wait to see where this new adventure will take us and I am so glad to have you as my partner. You are my other half........


To anyone else reading this......
I will be using this blog as my journal as I make the transition from a single woman living in the south to a married woman living in Colorado..............
It should be very interesting, to say the least. I hope that you will all stick around and follow my story.

God Bless!

Back For Good!

Ok, so everybody has been screaming that I don't blog anymore... maybe that's a tad bit dramatic, but still my friends and my fiance are all wondering why I started this blog and am not following through with it..... So I must warn you, fasten your seat belts- it's gonna be a long, long ride.

I must sidestep for one moment before going any further... To anyone who reads this and realizes that my blog ends up being one giant run on sentence... well, you are definitely right. I write my blog as if I am in conversation..... so to all my grammar loving friends--- Sorry! My blog was not created to be a great literary work, only a window into my world.... I have to be me! ;)

Anyways, I have been a very busy girl since the last blog post. I have tried on several occasions, unsuccessfully, to blog but never had the time to finish. Since my last post back in April so much has taken place! First of all I made my second trip to Colorado and stayed for an entire week. Rob and I had the best time! I got to celebrate his birthday with him along with family and friends.... It was amazing. Rob has also made two trips to Alabama since my last post. I haven't seen him for almost a month now and it's killing me!

Second, my sweet PaPaw Crowder passed away in June. He had been sick since before Christmas last year. I miss him very much and so hope that I along with other members of my family can manage to carry on the wonderful legacy of Christian relationship and service that he left behind. After my Papaw passed Rob's brother-in-law Gerald passed away suddenly at the young age of 51. It was very hard for us to be apart during these times. All we wanted to do is be there for each other which is so hard when you are 1200 miles apart... but we survived.

I have been extremely busy with work too. It's gotten kind of crazy... But hey, it's job security!

Ok, now for the really, really, really big thing that has happened! You may notice that at the beginning of this entry I referred to Rob as my Fiance....... We're getting married!!!!
So much excitement as well as change comes along with this. We were engaged on July 18.... we will be married on December 5. There is so much to plan and accomplish and so little time to do it in! I have the wedding planned for the most part but I'm still buying things and ironing out details. Also, I'm moving to Colorado..... Yep me, the little southern girl who hasn't seen much of the world and is so close to her family is moving 1200 miles from home. Sometimes I can hardly believe that I am doing this. My journey has been an emotional roller coaster from the moment I said yes.... it is getting better though. I am happy, scared, sad and just about every other emotion you can possibly imagine. My family has been on the same roller coaster as me. We are all happy that I am getting married but we are also all sad that we won't be together anymore.
I am truly starting a new chapter in my life. My story has come to a defining moment that has changed me forever. In December I will be a wife and I will be far from home.... neither of which I am accustomed to. Rob has been so great through all of this... Sometimes I feel so bad for him because I know he wants to make me happy and for me to be excited about the road that lies ahead.... and I am... but again, I am still on the emotional roller coaster... planning a wedding and a cross country move at the same time. Can we say STRESS???? haha
Oh well, I am confident that I am strong enough to survive all the changes that are coming my way. I also know that Rob is my partner and he is going to be there for me. I love him so much and even though I am sad to move away leaving family and friends behind, I am so glad that he asked me to marry him and would not change my mind for anything on earth. I am sure that the decisions we are making right now are the right ones even if they were tough to make. God is putting us where we need to be for this season of our new life together. I am trusting God that He will not let us fall and will not allow what we can't bare. I'm in the biggest faith walk of my life. God has always been faithful to me and so I will always try my hardest to show that I have faith in Him.... even when I don't understand the why or the how.

I thank God every day for the man He has given me. Rob is a good man.... a man I can trust. He's my best friend and I can't wait to be his wife. I thought that the past 9 months had been an adventure... I have I feeling that I haven't seen anything yet!

I am making a promise to blog at least once a month during our engagement, hopefully more if time allows. Also, I have decided to use this blog to journal my experiences with adjusting to my new life in Colorado.... It should be very interesting to say the least!

Thank you for reading my blog and God Bless!

Here I Am... Back Yet Again.......

Yes, I realize it's been a very long time since my last post. Life has the amazing ability of getting in the way. I think things are back to semi-normal for now so I promise I will try my hardest to keep blogging.
I am so unbelievably excited! This time tomorrow I will be with my sweetheart Robert. We haven't seen each other in 2 1/2 months!!!!!!! GASP!!!!!!!!!!!!
This long distance relationship thing has been really hard but I have a feeling that in the end the payoff will be well worth it all.
Since the last time I posted Rob came to visit for a second time and I also made a trip out to Colorado for Valentine's Day.... It was AMAZING!
Deviating from the subject just a bit....... Looks like this blog has evolved into the telling of my love story for the time being..... just so you know.... ;)

Anyways back to my story...... Colorado was beautiful, very different from Alabama but still beautiful in its own way. I could tell that Rob so enjoyed being able to introduce me to so many new things. (I had never really left the southeast before.) Looking back, I think I must have seemed like an absolute child! LOL
I got so excited over the silliest things... such as seeing a tumbleweed up close for the first time...... I'm sure Rob found this hilarious..... Of course when I announced that this was my very first tumbleweed he didn't even flinch.... He just responded "I guess you've only seen them on T.V." ...... I then realized how many times I had used this phrase during my visit and couldn't help but laugh..... Still makes me giggle to think about it. I guess the tumbleweeds made me feel like I was in the real "wild west." LOL
Not to dis the tumbleweeds, but of course the highlight of my trip was just being with Rob in his world and acting like a normal couple.... those times are few and far between for us so we savor every moment.

And now moving on.... The time has arrived for our "Alabama date." A whole weekend with all the people I love in the same city at the same time.... priceless. One month from now I will be taking a trip back to Colorado for a whole week! I'm soooooooo excited.
After this weekend is over I'm sure I will have LOTS to blog about and also pictures to post!

More on my unfolding adventure later!

Thanks for enduring my unorganized ramblings....... God Bless!!!!!!!