I'm Engaged!

So my #1 Christmas wish came true, I got engaged. He surprised me too. I was thinking maybe he would ask me at Christmas, but wasn't sure. He made the day like any normal day and it took me by surprise. We went to church and then went out to eat for lunch at Cotton Patch. I wasn't thinking anything since we didn't go somewhere special but little did I know what would happen later that day. By the way I was reminded later that was where we had our first date and that's why we went there. Anyways, so then after lunch he was driving me back to my house and then I saw his parents car at my house. I said "what are they doing here". He, of course acted like he had no idea. I walked in and was wondering what everyone was doing. Then Karson took out a Christmas bag and said he was going to give me part of my Christmas early. Me still clueless was thinking ok, it coudln't be a ring. Then he took out a box and then got on one knee, and asked me to marry him. I was speechless, me the one who always talks. I was like what? are you serious? I don't believe it. I think I finally said yes after a few minutes. I was in total shock. He asked me in front of our families and it was special and that way they could also take pictures. The ring is beautiful and he picked it out all by himself. He did a great job. I think it would be a challenge to surprise me after dating for so long, but he did and it was awesome. I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with him, we are truly blessed.

My ring!

(I couldn't get the picture to rotate right, just turn your head)

Honest Scrap Award

When you receive the prize, you must write a post showing it, together with the name of who has given it to you, and link them back. Choose a minimum of 7 blogs that you find brilliant in their content or design. Show their names and links and leave them a comment informing that they were prized with 'Honest Weblog'. List [if you can and/or dare] at least ten honest things about yourself. Then, pass it on!"

I have been given this award by my sweet friend Jill, she has become quite the blogger but her handmade scrapbooks are amazing. She says I'm crafty, I like to try new ideas and crafts but haven't actually worked on my scrapbook in a long time. I need to do that, now that I'm not studying. Anyway here it goes.

1-I am afraid of heights. I don't ride roller coasters and I'm not very adventurous. I don't even like the omni theatre when it looks like you are flying. I can't stand it and I have to close my eyes.

2-I am lazy. I have a gym membership and go maybe once a week. That is a waste of money. My friend Jackie is so dedicated and goes almost everyday, but I just can't seem to put it as a priority. I need to discipline myself, but the truth is I would rather watch t.v. or something. Sad I know.

3-Another reason why I'm lazy. I wear my hair up almost every single day now. I think this started since I have been in school, but I just never feel like fixing my hair and when I do wear it down it gets on my nerves and I want to put it up. Karson even mentioned one day that he likes it when my hair is down. That is pretty sad.

4-I like to be in control and have things done my way. I can be quite bossy sometimes. Not everyone has seen this side of me, but if you know me well then I'm sure you have seen it.

5-I use to be more of a push-over but I have come to speak my mind more and say what I'm thinking. This isn't always a good thing. I also talk too much and don't listen enough.

6-I love carbs and sugar. I love to eat "bad food" it tastes so good. I know that will catch up with me eventually but I'm really a sucker for mexican and chocolate. (not together)

7-My sister and I share a lot of our clothes. I never thought we would be able to since we are 5 years apart but we can finally fit into a lot of each others clothes. It is fun, but sometimes we disagree on who can wear what.

8-Yes I love my sister, but we still fight, even now at 18 and 23. Sad huh! I think it will be this way until we don't live together or share a bathroom.

9-I love crafts and coming up with new projects and ideas, but I don't always follow them through. Like what I said about my scrapbook earlier, I started it this summer all excited and bought everything and then school started and I haven't worked on it in months. I also started making hair bows and that kept me from the scrapbooking as well.

10-I have a bad habit of biting my nails or picking at them. I have done this since I was little and just can't stop. Even when I get my nails done I still want to mess with them. I don't know if I will ever break this habit.

So that's me! The good, the bad, and the ugly.

The award goes to:

Kyna-She is such an inspiration and true servant.

Megan-My new friend I met this year in school who also got me to start making bows.

Jennifer-My dear friend who moved away a few years ago and is now moving very far away.

Mandy- My friend who is little like me, and have even had people mix us up at church. I don't think we look alike, I think people say that because we are both small, short, and blonde.

Christmas Break

I haven't written in a while so I just wanted to cheer for no more finals. Yeah! I'm officialy done, well until January, but I am so excited. I am so tired of studying and can't wait to relax and spend time with family and friends and experience the joy of Christmas.

Favorite 8

I was tagged by my friend Jill to list all of these 8 things. So here it goes, in no particular order. It is actually hard to think of 8 things for each.

Favorite T.V. Shows:
1. John & Kate plus 8
2. House Hunters
3. Design to Sell
4. House
5. The Hills
6. What not to wear
7. Say yes to the dress
8. Property Virgins

Favorite Restaurants:
1. Cheddar's
2. On the Border
3. Macaroni Grill
4. Schmaltz
5. Cathay House
6. Pappadeaux
7. Pasados
8. Chili's

Happened Today:
1. Ate lunch with cousins in Hillsboro
2. Went shopping
3. Got some good deals at the polo outlet
4. Made potato cheese soup
5. Watched a movie, the happening (freaky)
6. Hung out with Karson
7. Ate oatmeal raisin cookies
8. Got on my blog

Looking forward to:
1. My school semeter being over
2. Seeing my family at Thanksgiving
3. Having a holiday break
4. Decorating for Christmas
5. Curling up on the couch drinking hot chocolate
6. My cousin's 2nd birthday
7. Christmas!
8. Finishing school in a couple years and finding a good job

Wishlist:
1. If you know me well I think you can guess my #1
2. Get an aide job next semester
3. Graduate with honors
4. Get a good teaching job
5. That the people I love who are suffering from illnesses would be cured
6. The every child in the world would be healthy and safe
7. To live my life more care free and not be so anxious
8. A new car one day

I tag:
1. Kyna
2. Mandy
3. Jennifer
4. Courtney
5. Jessica
6. Amy
7. Katie
8. Carla

Homemade Pickles - Duggar Style!

We made pickles this week and we used the Duggar's Recipe. If you don't know who the Duggar's are then you should go to this website http://www.duggarfamily.com/ They are a neat family with 17 children and counting. I personally would never want that many children, but they feel blessed to have such an abundance I think they are genuine. Anyways, the pickles are very salty but good. Here is how they turned out and I attached their recipe below. Anyone have any good recipes? If so add them to my comments. I am up for a new challenge.

The Duggar's Recipe

GARLIC DILL PICKLES

3/4 c. salt (this is to salty for some; may be reduced to 1/2 c.)4-5 cups white vinegar 8 c. water cucumbers (enough to fill 6- 1quart jars.)18 cloves garlic, peeled 6 T. dill seed (not weed.)Wash cucumbers, cut into spears, and pack in jars. Add 3 cloves garlic & 1 T. dill seed per jar. Place jars on baking sheet (or pan.) in oven at 250. (this keeps jars hot so they’ll seal when you add vinegar.) Boil vinegar, salt, and water, pour boiling mixture into hot jars, and immediately put hot bans & lids onto jars. (keep lids & bands hot by boiling them first.) Let cool on counter. (they should seal while cooling.) Let sit 10-12 days before using (this is the hard part! If you can’t stand it, only wait a week!)(Our favorite dill pickles!) makes 6 qts.

Tagged!

I was tagged by Jill to go to my 6th folder with pictures and post the 6th picture. It is of my mom, my sister, and I at a mother-daughter brunch we went to at a local church earlier this year. My friend, Kyna, was the speaker. Kyna has a gift from God to speak and proclaim God's word and she is an inspiration. Love you! They had a mother and daughter sing "How you live", which is an awesome song with great meaning, which I already have on my site. It was a great time of fellowship with family and friends.

I almost forgot, I tag Amy, Courtney, Jessica, Katie, and Kyna!

My cousin's wedding

We went to my cousin Brook's wedding this weekend. He looked handsome and his wife, Abby, looked gorgeous. I am very happy for them. Congratulations! The wedding was at my Aunt and Uncle's house and everything was beautiful. They got married outside in the front yard when the sun was setting and it was so pretty. They worked really hard and it showed. I added some pictures below. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of the bride and groom, I didn't want to be the one to mess up the professional photographer's flash, but I got a video and lots of other pictures of everything else. I'll upload the video later if I figure it out, for now it's just pictures.

My family before the wedding (the sun was bright)

The Groom's Cake, which my Aunt actually made, homemade carrot cake (very yummy) - I thought the figurine on top was funny

The Bride's Cake

Some of the tables outside
My sister Adrienne and my cousin Avery.

My adorable cousins! They were the flower girls and ring bearer.

Happy Halloween!

I haven't posted anything in a while so I will just post a picture of the pumpkin I painted and carved today. I decided to make it look different. It doesn't look the best, but I still like it and I think the kids will too. I don't like anything scary. I hope everyone has a safe and happy halloween.

Lake Travis

We went to Austin today for our 5 1/2 year anniversary. We went to the Oasis restaurant which sits on the lake & the views from the tables outside are gorgeous. It was so much fun and the food was good too. We drove around and admired the beautiful lake and houses. We also went to a park on the lake and watched the water out on some rocks. It was fun and very beautiful. We didn't know such a thing existed in Austin. I hope you enjoy the pics!

View from the restaurant

At the park

Hair Bows

Well I found a new hobby, it is making hair bows. A girl at school has been making bows for little girls and they are so cute and inspired another girl and I to try it out too. We have all been buying ribbon and making several bows. It is actually pretty fun and I think they are pretty cute. I'm doing it more for fun right now but I would also like to try to sell some and see how they do. If it goes well I will continue to make them and sell more. Here are a few pictures of some I have made so far. (some are bigger w/ regular clips & some are smaller w/ alligator clips)

Trusting in God's Will

Sometimes it is hard to know what God's will is for our lives, and I have often struggled with that, but is it really our job to know what his plans are for our future? I think that we need to trust in God and the plans he has for us, seeking him and patiently waiting for him to reveal his self to us and his plans for our lives. I pray that God will give us patience with our understandings and a peace in knowing that he has a plan for us, one that will be far greater than what we could even imagine or hope for now. I believe that everything happens for a reason and that everything is in God's timing, we just need to take a breath sometimes and let him show us the way in which we should go.

Family

The week before school started back, my sister and I spent a few days with my Nanna and my cousins. We went to the water park , had a cook out, and went out to eat a few times. It was a lot of fun and I love spending time with them. My little cousins are growing up and I can't believe how big they are getting. I hope you enjoy the pictures.

My new blog spot

Well I finally decided to get my own blog spot. I use facebook, but thought this might be fun too. I am still trying to figure out how to do everything, so if you have any suggestions let me know. I will add some pictures later.